I live in Seattle, where we’ve always had our share of quirky local color.
If you’ve ever watched a home Seahawks game on Monday Night Football, you know about the Pike Place Market fish-throwing guys. There used to be a mystery vending machine in the Capitol Hill neighborhood that dispensed random drinks, and no one knew who stocked it. Outside of late-night bars and concerts, hot dog stands sell Seattle dogs, loaded with grilled onions and cream cheese (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it).
So, of course, Jimothy had to come from the Emerald City. Jimothy, the short-spined raccoon that went viral this month, is now a Google animation for the whole internet to enjoy. As of Wednesday, if you Google “Jimothy,” a cute little animated version of the raccoon races across your screen. A green paw icon also shows up, and you can click that to see Jimothy scurry again and again.
As of 3 p.m. PT, Jimothy has been summoned for his little Google run over 1.5 million times.
The raccoon hangs out in my neighborhood, Seattle’s Scandinavian-accented Ballard area. Local resident Kiana Hall told the Seattle Times she thought it was a cat: “I just have never seen any other animal like it.” She posted her video on Instagram and gave him the name because “he looked like a Jimothy.”
(Note: I can’t independently confirm Jimothy’s sex or gender.)
In addition to the Google animation, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which I didn’t know existed, is making a Jimothy bobblehead. You can preorder it now for $30, with shipping in December, when Jimothy will almost surely be forgotten in favor of a newer viral phenomenon. Y’all remember Moo Deng?
The Seattle Mariners were joking around on X, pretending that Jimothy was at their batting practice, but then the team got real and put a raccoon-suited person in their regular ballpark salmon race. Jimothy won, and the crowd went wild.
There’s more: On July 26, my neighborhood is celebrating the goofy little Jimothy with a proclamation in his honor and an art competition.
And Oatmeal cartoonist Matthew Inman, a Seattle-area resident, drew a “police sketch of Jimothy in case the cops need it.” (Why would they? Who would narc on Jimothy, and for what?)
Jimothy appears to have a rare disorder called short spine syndrome, which accounts for his hunched-up, cartoon-like appearance. Essentially, he looks like he has no neck. A veterinary professor told the Seattle Times that he appears to be functioning well and is “very spry.”
Another neighbor, Ben Trammell, dug out some video he found of Baby Jimothy with what appears to be Mom and Dad Jimothy, and posted it on Instagram.
“We saw Jimothy … almost daily for months,” Trammell wrote. “He was so small and clumsy, but his mother and siblings were always so patient and caring, keeping him from falling and sometimes just carrying him.”
I know the part of my neighborhood Jimothy hangs out in, but I refuse to head over there and stalk the poor guy. It’s rare that we get a solidly good thing to focus on in this messed-up world, and I would hate to hear that people were messing with Jimothy.
Let the nation’s newest furry friend hang out unbothered, foraging for Dick’s cheeseburger wrappers in trash cans and savoring Seattle’s perfect summer temperatures.
If I need my Jimothy fix, I can just run his Google animation again. Stay safe, little buddy.
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