- A raccoon broke into a Virginia liquor store and consumed alcohol before passing out
- The animal caused damage to 14 bottles worth about $250 and left broken shelves behind
- Store staff found the raccoon face down after its rampage on Black Friday
A raccoon broke into a liquor store in Virginia, USA and caused chaos after getting into the endless supply of alcohol. The trash panda proceeded to get drunk before passing out, an incident that came to light last week on Black Friday (Nov 28) when a store employee found the animal face down, following what appeared to be a "liquor-fueled rampage" a few hours earlier.
According to Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter, before blacking out, the raccoon left behind a trail of broken liquor bottles, dishevelled shelves and toppled boxes. A spokesperson for the store said the raccoon damaged 14 bottles of spirits worth about $250. No other damage was found, and the store opened after the cleanup.
Samantha Martin, an officer who works at the shelter, took care of the raccoon after she was called in by the liquor store. "I personally like raccoons. They are funny little critters. He fell through one of the ceiling tiles and went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything."
Seeing the light side of the matter, the agency joked that the raccoon might still have a hangover, adding that the animal was released into the wild after a few hours of sleep.
"After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer," officials wrote in a statement.
In one of the viral photos shared by the authorities, the raccoon can be seen dozing off near a garbage can and a toilet. Another pic shows a store alley filled with broken liquor bottles. As the pics went viral, social media users had a field day, laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
"Leave him alone! It had a very tough day of rummaging through garbage cans," said one user, while another added: "You know what, I thought this story was BS, but the second picture has me doubting."
A third commented: "Look, this guy was clearly just doing a little taste testing - let him sleep it off in the drunk tank."
A fourth said: "The raccoon will never get this insane experience for the rest of its life lol."
