The Collector: Pets inspired collection that now fills a playhouse

Stephanie Johnson’s collection had a wild beginning.

“I’ve been collecting raccoons since 1972 when I bought a 4-week-old raccoon from a local pet store in California,” she said.

She named the kit Mercy and soon added another critter.

“I rescued Sadie out of an attic,” Johnson said. “I enjoyed raising them from little babies.”

Raccoons love to make their dens in attics, and Johnson rescued and rehomed several litters while living in California.

“My husband Randy and I took Mercy and Sadie on-leash to lakes and streams – we even took them camping.”

Though it’s now illegal to own raccoons in most states, Johnson isn’t alone in her affinity. President Calvin Coolidge’s favorite pet was a raccoon named Rebecca. He built a special house for her and walked her around the White House on a leash.

Mercy and Sadie both lived to age 12.

“They would never have lived 12 years in the wild,” she said. “Most only live four years.”

Her pets inspired family and friends to give her raccoon-themed gifts, and over the years, her collection grew to include hundreds of items. When they moved to Spokane in 2013, she knew exactly how she wanted to display them.

“I always wanted a playhouse,” Johnson said. “So, I got one and filled it with my favorite things.”

The prefab she shed features a wooden sign welcoming guests to Mercy and Sadie’s – a nod to the pets that inspired it. Inside, raccoons peer from floor to ceiling and from every corner.

“I spent a couple of months collecting display cabinets,” she said. “I’m happy my collection isn’t in my house anymore.”

Her collection includes mugs, magnets, artwork, aprons, embroidery, puzzles and figurines.

Johnson pointed to one of her earliest items.

“A guy at the pet shop I worked at gave me this statue with three raccoons as a wedding gift.”

In one corner, a small Christmas tree holds dozens of ornaments.

“It’s one of the first fiber -optic trees from the ’80s,” Johnson said. “It worked out fine for my raccoon Christmas ornaments.”

The tree had been her mother’s and brings fond memories. Her mother gave her many items in her collection, including a personalized plush raccoon Christmas stocking.

“Mom hung it up at her house.”

When her mother traveled to Japan, she returned with additions to Johnson’s collection, including a ceramic sumo wrestler.

Hallmark Tender Touches figurines fill a cabinet. The whimsical collectibles depict everything from a raccoon paddling a raft to a patriotic pipe and drum trio to a father and kit fishing.

A shelf features gray critters made from Mount St. Helen’s ash.

Johnson turned T-shirts featuring her favorite masked mammals into a quilt, and yes, she has a coonskin cap, but of course, it’s a faux one.

A small table holds a lamp with a raccoon base.

“I painted it at one of those paint-it-yourself places,” she said.

Soft plush raccoons line the room, and she even has a brown ceramic tea set. The handles of the small cups are ringed tails.

One of her favorite items is a collector’s plate titled “Dark-Eyed Friends” by artist Gregory Perillo. It features a Native American girl with a raccoon looking over her shoulder.

“I love that they’re side by side with their soulful looks.”

What she most enjoys about her collection is the memories many items evoke.

“They were given to me by people who cared about me,” she said

Having a raccoon for a pet is illegal in Spokane County, and that’s just fine with Johnson. She’s content with her tame collection and her current pets.

“I don’t need another live raccoon,” she said. “Three cats and a dog are fine for me.”