The Packrat

Yesterday, I had just parked on Baker Street and Aloka and I had gone into a toystore. All of a sudden I hear lots of talking outside and look out and see tons of people around our car! Apparantely, some kind of rodent like thing had run down the street and was taking cover in our VW engine compartment.
It started with a few people, and more and more people stopped to see what all the hubbub was about. We were on our backs trying to grab the thing from under the car. Then finally someone went to get the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) who then brought a net and cage. The thing was captured in the net, but then squeezed through one of the holes! Eventually, someone grabbed it by the tail and got it into the cage.
The funniest thing was that no one could identify what it was. Everyone who stopped, asked what it was, and I heard "chinchilla" (most popular), "squirrel", "rat", "packrat", "someone's lost pet", it was too funny. One guy, when realizing he couldn't identify what it was, suggested that "maybe it's from the States!" (we still have Washington plates on our car) And another person said, "well...welcome to Canada, eh!"
Later on at home, we finally identified it online as a Packrat.
It touched me that so many people were concerned for this animal's wellbeing. Everyone was genuinely concerned that it would run out into the road or get harmed in some way. When it was finally caught, there was much cheering and a sense of community accomplishment. And I thought I was just going out for a couple errands!