A kindhearted Illinois woman named Eryn helped a blind raccoon survive twice the lifespan that he was expected to by leaving food outside of her home for him every day for five years.

“There is something wrong with his tapetum lucidum,” Eryn wrote in the video caption below. “His eyes shine bright green during the day. He is at least partially blind. He walks into things. He is afraid of the wind, high grass, birds, and snow.”

Eryn’s kindness allowed the raccoon to overcome his disabilities and survive.

“He is out and about during the day. He comes to our house for food early in the morning usually around 6-9AM,” Eryn explained. “He often returns for seconds and sometimes comes back for thirds. His bottom lip is missing so we feed him soft pasta noodles soaked in cream of chicken soup. We often cut up small pieces of hot dogs, ham, pork, etc. He refuses to eat canned cat/dog food.”

Eryn was surprised one day when the raccoon appeared with two black kittens that she came to call his “bodyguards.”

Eryn believes that the raccoon worked out a deal with the cats in which they would protect him in exchange for him showing them where he got his food.

“They would magically appear when he would come for food. So they figured out that Blind Raccoon = FOOD,” Eryn said. “So they would appear when the Blind Raccoon (and sometimes other raccoons) would show up.”

Sadly, the day finally came when the raccoon passed away, but he led a long life thanks to Eryn’s generosity. After his death, Eryn decided to adopt the kittens who had been the raccoon’s bodyguard, as they missed their blind friend dearly as well. They remain a happy family to this day!

Watch the raccoon and his bodyguards for yourself in the video below!