MONTREAL – When Jacques Lessard and Rachel Garenne found a litter of raccoons on the side of the road in May 2013, they decided to keep one.
They named him Nymous, and “brought the others to a shelter, where they all died for lack of emergency care.”
The couple lived on an old army base in Mont Radar, where they gave tours.
Their love for the furry creature, who often accompanied the tours, snowballed into newfound popularity for the army base.
Many visitors began taking pictures with Nymous and the Internet fame lead Lessard and Garenne to take in more raccoons and open an animal shelter with a raccoon observatory.
They have a legal permit from the Wildlife Ministry to run the observation center.
Centre Refuge Nymous is for educational purposes, Garenne explained to Global News.
WATCH BELOW: A tour of Centre Refuge Nymous (in French)
However, the couple recently received an eviction notice and were forced out of the property.
They have since found a new home in Sainte-Beatrix, which was donated to them for 25 years, and are looking to continue their operation at the new site.
“They have seven super raccoons in perfect health, a raccoon who is blind from birth and a micro-pig who was saved from a refuge, and who are all assiduously followed by a veterinary,” wrote Nancy McAVadnais, who created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the move.
“These animals are like their family.”
The couple wants to build an observatory and a rehabilitation center, where injured animals are taken in, nursed back to health and released back in to the wild, on the new property.
WATCH BELOW: Luciole is a blind raccoon that lives with the couple
Garenne pointed out moving from one location to another – with the raccoons – while also building an observatory and rehabilitation center isn’t simple.
“The problem is that they need to build a shelter and outdoor fence to move the raccoons before dismantling the one at the old location,” explained Sandra Gray, a supporter.
In order to do that, the couple needs help getting either materials or money to build a fence around the new property.
Lessard and Garenne plan to move to their new home on Saturday and welcome volunteers who want to help them, to send a message on Facebook.
Since the couple has gained fame over the years thanks to Nymous, they are not releasing the exact address to the public just yet.
Nymous died Oct. 12, 2015, after complications from castration surgery.
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