Ollie has been found. Bao Bao is on her way out. Who even remembers Rusty? D.C. has a new animal to project our wants and needs on, and this one may well top them all. Because if there ever was a sign that the critters are paying attention to global affairs, this is it.

Politico reporter Helena Evich came across a raccoon this morning in Rosslyn clutching the back of a garbage truck for dear life on Oak St., at the intersection with Clarendon and Wilson Blvd. Evich alerted the driver, who she says handled the situation well, and then told the world via Twitter, which was trash raccoon’s endgame all along.

Because trash raccoon knows that the best way to get Washington’s attention amid the tornado of outlandish news coming out of the administration is with an animal photo, he or she seized the day trash truck. And not just any old trash truck, one that reads ‘heil’ atop a stylization of the American flag.

Trash raccoon is telling us all to hang in there. Or to ride a trash truck the hell out of #thistown. You decide.

Update: Trash raccoon made it as far away as Falls Church, where police officers were called to the scene. “The raccoon avoided capture and escaped towards the Larry Graves park area,” reads a news release from the town, which proudly notes “Raccoon Chooses the Little City.”

Filed Under: 2017, animals, meanwhile in virginia, raccoon, trash, trash raccoon,