‘Spirit animal’: Raccoon breaks into US liquor store, gets drunk and passes out in bathroom
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A raccoon broke into a liquor store in Virginia, the US, in the early hours of Nov 29, consumed alcohol and passed out.
PHOTOS: HANOVER COUNTY ANIMAL PROTECTION AND SHELTER/FACEBOOK
Follow topic:
A raccoon appears to have taken the term “spirit animal” rather literally after it broke into a liquor store in the south-eastern US state of Virginia and helped itself to the whisky aisle, before passing out in the bathroom.
The intruder entered the Ashland ABC Store in the early hours of Nov 29, a day after Black Friday, smashing bottles and even dislodging a ceiling tile before settling on the floor between a toilet and a bin for a drunken nap.
Staff arriving that morning found the aisle soaked with alcohol and littered with broken glass.
The Hanover County Animal Shelter, which shared photos of the “crime scene” in a Facebook post on Dec 3, said the “suspect” had ransacked several shelves and was “very intoxicated” when discovered.
The post has racked up more than 8,000 likes, 827 comments and 4,100 shares as at 1.20pm on Dec 3.
Officer Samantha Martin, who responded to the incident, said the raccoon had fallen through a ceiling tile before going on “a full-blown rampage, drinking everything”.
She told the Associated Press that she found the animal passed out on the bathroom floor at the end of its escapade.
“I personally like raccoons,” she said. “They are funny little critters.”
The Hanover County Animal Shelter said in its post: “Officer Martin safely secured our masked bandit and transported him back to the shelter to sober up before questioning.”
The shelter added that after a few hours of sleep and no signs of injury, “other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices”, the raccoon was released back into the wild.
Sky News reported that the raccoon had opted for spirits over wine, leaving the bottom shelf of scotch and whisky in disarray.
The store’s closed-circuit television cameras offered no help, as the animal had crashed through the ceiling and knocked them out.
The Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter later commended Officer Martin for providing “our visitor with a sober ride home”.
The store, meanwhile, has been left to mop up after the uninvited guest, who racked up what staff described as a substantial bill.
The raccoon, now back in the wild, is hoped to have learnt that breaking and entering is not the answer – even on Black Friday.
