Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter
A raccoon that was found passed out next to a toilet after ransacking a liquor store in North Carolina became an internet sensation when the tale went viral earlier this month. It turns out that wasn’t the first time animal control was dispatched to deal with the critter, as the officer who handled the case says it was a repeat offender who may strike again.
Plenty of Americans end up dealing with a hangover on the day after Thanksgiving, but a raccoon in North Carolina waited an extra day to treat itself to one this year after breaking into a liquor store in the town of Ashland and getting drunk on the liquor that was spilled from the bottles that were shattered while it explored.
The animal became a bit of a celebrity after Hanover County Animal Protection shared a picture of the trash panda passed out next to a toilet in the bathroom of the ABC Store it managed to infiltrate at some point on Black Friday, and the shelter where it sobered up netted over $100,000 after it started selling merch inspired by the incident.
Now, we’ve gotten some more intel courtesy of the animal control officer who was tasked with tending to the raccoon and was apparently no stranger to its hijinks.
The raccoon that passed out after getting drunk at a liquor store in North Carolina has a history of mischief
Samantha Martin was the animal control officer who first discovered the raccoon in question, and she recently sat down for an interview with Hear in Hanover to shed some light on what went down.
Martin revealed there was evidence to suggest the raccoon fell through the ceiling before ending up in the stockroom where the damage occurred, noting the floor was “sopping wet” when she arrived.
She added she believes it was the same raccoon that was responsible for at least two other break-ins in the shopping center where the liquor store is located, saying:
“This is not the first time he’s been in one of the buildings. Supposedly, this is like the third break-in he’s had. He was in the karate studio, I think he got into DMV and ate some of their snacks one time.
Each time we get him out, we don’t relocate him, because that’s a death sentence for raccoons, but somehow he knows how to get back into this building. He’s a smart little critter.”
Martin said the raccoon got the chance to sleep it off for a few hours after being placed in a kennel at the shelter, and while there have not been any reports of another incident since he was released into the nearby woods, it doesn’t sound like it’s out of the realm of possibility given his history.