Ever heard of a chimney cap?

Some of our friends know that we've had visitors living in our fireplace for the past couple of months. It seems that a momma racoon and her babies decided to shack up with us. We joked about how they might come in the house and take over while we were on vacation but we didn't think it would really happen.
This is the sight Mom saw last night in the fireplace. EEEEEEKKKKK!!!!! She cried!
It seems that 2 babies, yes 2, had fallen through the damper and into the fireplace. My dad is so creative, he decided to wrangle them out. He's almost like the Crocodile Hunter! He built a snare and had our friend Ed poke them under the grate so he could nab them! They weren't really big, just the size of a medium sized cat, but Momma wasn't happy. She was glad to have these visitors leave!