VERDUN – Nat Gervasi said she’s now $217 lighter in the pocket after she brought in the Montreal SPCA to rescue an injured raccoon.
Why? She said the borough of Verdun took too long to react.
Last week, Gervasi said she saw a raccoon with a hurt leg on the sidewalk and was concerned for its health.
She called the borough at around 8 a.m. and asked them to rescue the animal.
That initiated what, according to her, was a thicket of red tape that took more than two hours to resolve.
The borough sent someone, she said, but he wasn’t equipped to deal with the problem.
“At this point in time I’m watching the animal die,” Gervasi said.
So, on her own initiative, Gervasi paid a third party, K-911, who transported the raccoon to the SPCA.
The organization took the animal in and nursed it back to health, according to Alanna Devine, the SPCA’s advocacy director.
“An animal that is injured and suffering is unacceptable under any circumstances,” Devine said.
Gervasi continues to insist the borough should refund her.
“We cannot allow any citizens to call upon a private individual or firm to provide a service already offered by the borough, on their own initiative, and then expect a refund,” Verdun mayor, Jean-François Parenteau, wrote to Global News an email.
The Montreal SPCA has a contract with Verdun to take in injured animals; the borough also does its own patrolling.
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