Couple delighted with mysterious, furry tenant

WESTERN BRANCH

Ruel Scott was startled by the sight.

Sitting in a nook of the oak tree at the end of his winding driveway, a raccoon stared back at him.

"At first I jumped back a little bit," Scott said.

Then he realized the creature wasn't real.

It was a stuffed raccoon, tightly nestled against the bark, oblivious to the passing traffic along busy two-laned Jolliff Road. He is visible to only the most attentive of drivers.

Scott and wife Brenda had just packed up a bunch of stuff to give away. Neither recalled laying eyes on the raccoon before, but figured somehow it got left behind by the workers who came to pick up the load.

"I figured one of the guys stuck it in the tree before going on his way," Brenda said.

They thought the raccoon was cute. The Scotts didn't disturb it. It was mid-June.

Then one day they noticed another twist. The raccoon had clothes on. He was dressed for the approaching 4th of July. Party favors reminiscent of sparklers brightened him up. That turned out to be the first of his many outfits.

He wore a jack o'lantern costume for Halloween.

He donned a pilgrim's hat for Thanksgiving.

He stayed warm in a Santa suit and hat for Christmas.

Know what else? This sucker is a quick-change artist. The Scotts have never seen anyone trading in one set of clothes for another.

They're curious, and they've asked a few of the walkers who regularly pass their home. But nobody has 'fessed up to making sure the 'coon is appropriately decked out for the season.

Last Saturday night when the Scotts returned home late, the raccoon was still dressed in his Christmas attire.

Sunday morning when they left for church, voila! The raccoon had switched to Valentine's Day garb.

"We didn't see or hear a thing," Brenda confessed.

They haven't named their new pet, though Brenda occasionally dubs him "Hollywood" because of his fondness for dressing to the nines.

"We don't know what St. Patrick's Day is going to bring or Easter," Brenda said.

May Day? The first day of summer? Who knows? The Scotts don't, and they're not going to great lengths to uncover the mystery behind the anonymous do-gooder with a penchant for fashion.

But they do offer this message to whoever is performing their "black ops" mission to dress the critter.

"We would like him to stay," Brenda said. "It's a nice distraction. Somebody for some reason thinks it's important to do this. It always brings a smile to our faces."

Vicki L. Friedman, (757) 222-5218, vicki.friedman@pilotonline.com