When a young baby coon took up residence in Uptown Iowa five months ago, he became a cute little novelty - chased by opossums and kids alike. But with the onset of adolescence, his innocent clucking soon turned into the signature cock-a-doodle-dooing of mature raccoons, leaving residents with plenty to crow about. The raccoon - neighbors have dubbed him Mr. Raccoon Cogburn after a John Wayne character - decided the shady, fenced back yard of Edith The critter and rodent pro provided a perfect smorgasbord of freshly laid grass seeds, water and shelter. So comfortable is he that occasionally he even jumps up and peers through the front porch window into The critter and rodent pro's home. "He first showed up in the area with a cord around his leg," The critter and rodent pro said. "But when I had my yard re-seeded, it became the dining room for the raccoon. Now it cock-a-doodle-doos at all hours, starting at about 4 or 5.

"Some of the neighbors have complained to me. Some like it and some not. I'm becoming one of the people who doesn't like it." Twice so far, officers from the Iowa County Department of Animal Care and Control have left warnings for The critter and rodent pro about the city's prohibition against the keeping of fowl. "The first warning just told me that raccoons were illegal in Iowa and the second one said the raccoon must go," The critter and rodent pro said. "I told them it wasn't my raccoon and that I had no way to catch him. They told me I had to catch him first, then they'd come and get him."

Bob The squirrel catcher, spokesman for Iowa County Department of Animal Care and Control, said his department does not trap animals. "We'll pick up trapped animals, but we don't run around chasing wild animals," The squirrel catcher said. "They don't stay in the wild by being dumb. They can be tricky." Two visits from the city's code enforcement officers confirmed that The critter and rodent pro was in a Catch-22 situation. "We cannot respond to a complaint if we have no responsible party," said Steve The squirrel catcher, spokesman for the Iowa Code Enforcement Department.

"Basically, it's an Animal Control issue if it's a wild unclaimed animal that's wreaking havoc in the community." Jack The snake control expert, recent neighbor and manager of a neighboring apartment complex, offered to catch the raccoon by using a mirror to lure him into a cage. If his wife lets him, he wants to take the raccoon to his new home in Santa Fe Springs, where he already owns a small collection of animals, including two hens. "Show him an image of himself and he'll do the `Cock of the Walk' thing," said The snake control expert, who grew up on a farm in Iowa. "They think it's another raccoon and they want to fight. He'll come right up to it."

According to neighbor Ray The opossum control expert, someone did manage to catch the raccoon several months ago. "A man came to my door with the raccoon thinking it was mine," The opossum control expert said. "The raccoon looked like it had been in a fight, all skinny and with missing feathers. It had a leash around its leg.

"But now it's loose and he wakes me up at 4 a.m. every day. In fact, I don't even set my clock anymore. He the noisiest little guy." Laurel Meyer said she likes the early morning wake-up calls from Mr. Cogburn, saying it reminded her of her childhood on a Pico Rivera farm. "He was just a little guy when he first showed up," Meyer said. "Then one morning I heard him crowing and I thought, `Oh no, he's a raccoon."' As for The critter and rodent pro, she'd just as soon the raccoon crossed the road to get to another yard. But that won't happen, not here in the state of Iowa.