A “very intoxicated raccoon” was found passed out in the bathroom of a liquor store in Ashland, Va., over the weekend after breaking in and ransacking several shelves, officials said Tuesday.
The “Black Friday break-in” was discovered early Saturday morning by an employee at the Ashland ABC store.
The employee called the local animal control office to report that she had found the break-in “suspect” passed out on the bathroom floor.
Animal control officer Samantha Martin responded to the scene and “safely secured our masked bandit and transported him back to the shelter to sober up before questioning,” the Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter said in a Facebook post.
After a few hours of sleep and no signs of injury — “other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices” — the raccoon was released safely back into the wild, hopefully after having learned that “breaking and entering is not the answer,” the agency said.
Officer Martin was commended for her professionalism and good humor in handling the “chaotic scene.”
“Just another day in the life at Hanover Animal Protection!” officials said.