Early Saturday morning in Hanover County, Virginia, authorities responded to a report of a break-in at a local liquor store. According to the initial call, the suspect had likely entered through the ceiling and left behind a trail of chaos.
Shelves were in disarray. Bottles lay shattered across the floor, soaking the tiles in spilled alcohol. At first glance, it looked like a textbook burglary — minus one key detail.
Security footage soon revealed the truth: the culprit wasn’t a person at all, but a raccoon.
Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter Officer Martin was dispatched to the scene, and the mystery didn’t last long. The furry offender hadn’t made a clean getaway — he was discovered unconscious in the store’s restroom.
“He had a few hours there to enjoy himself, I guess,” Jenna Spencer, field manager with Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter, told The Dodo. “He had a real bender, it looked like.”
The raccoon was easily taken into custody and transported to the shelter, where staff monitored him while he slept off his ill-advised night out.
“It took him a couple of hours to come to,” Spencer said.
Thankfully, the animal wasn’t injured despite his chaotic adventure. Once he’d fully recovered, officials deemed him healthy enough to be released back into the wild.
He was sent on his way — hopefully a little wiser and with a newfound understanding that breaking and entering isn’t the answer, no matter how tempting the shelves might look. 🦝🍾
