Seattle Found a Raccoon With a Very Short Spine. Now He's a Local Icon.

Meet Jimothy. He's a raccoon from Seattle, and he's having a moment. A big one. The kind of moment where a city council gets involved and declares a whole season in your honor. And it all started because Jimothy looks a little… different.

Kiana Hall, 33, spotted this peculiar critter and, naturally, filmed him. When he turned around, revealing that signature masked face, she realized she wasn't looking at some new, fuzzy cryptid, but a raccoon with a uniquely compact physique. She dubbed him Jimothy, uploaded the video, and the internet, as it often does, collectively melted.

"I never thought that my video of a raccoon would take off," Kiana told Today, clearly underestimating the internet's capacity for wholesome animal content. "Everyone could use something silly and fun like this."

And silly and fun he is. Fans quickly dubbed him a "little Beanie Baby," which, if you've seen him, is remarkably accurate. Turns out, Jimothy likely has something called "short spine syndrome." It’s rare in raccoons, but in dogs and cats, it means they look a bit squished but are otherwise perfectly healthy and live normal, happy lives. Which, frankly, is excellent news for a raccoon who's just been catapulted to local stardom.

Seattle, a city that clearly knows a good thing when it sees it, is leaning all the way in. City Council Member Alexis Mercedes Rinck took to Instagram to announce a special ceremony to honor their new, undeniably charming, short-spined hero. Mark your calendars for July 26, because it's officially "Jimothy Summer."

Yes, there will be a proclamation. Yes, there will be an art competition for Jimothy-themed masterpieces. Because apparently, that's where we are now: celebrating an unusually proportioned raccoon with the kind of civic enthusiasm usually reserved for championship sports teams. Long live, Jimothy indeed.