A drunk raccoon has become a huge hit. A Virginia liquor store created merch for the creature to raise money for a local organization.
Homes and businesses often have rodents and creatures living in the walls and ceilings that are simply trying to find shelter from the cold. While many owners will eventually put down traps or block openings, one Virginia liquor store didn’t act in time, and a raccoon went on an overnight bender, trashing the store and sampling the booze. Thankfully, a little creativity ensued, and the raccoon has become a fundraising sensation.
The Ashland ABC store began selling Trashed Panda merchandise
When a raccoon crashed through the ceiling of an Ashland, Virginia, ABC store and went on a booze-fueled rampage, nobody expected him to become a fundraising sensation. The masked bandit smashed 14 bottles, sampled the good stuff, and passed out cold on the bathroom floor. Now the “Trashed Panda” has inspired his own line of t-shirts, hoodies, and cocktails, raising over $150,000 for the Hanover County animal shelter. The Virginia ABC even created three signature cocktail recipes in his honor. Talk about turning poor life choices into positive community impact.
Trashed Panda becomes a viral raccoon story
The drunk raccoon that was found in the Virginia liquor store has its own merch, and that has turned into an animal shelter fundraiser phenomenon. As strange as it might sound, the raccoon trashed the Virginia liquor store, breaking several bottles and sampling the alcohol before passing out in the bathroom during Thanksgiving weekend. It seems a bit strange that the creature would wander into the bathroom, but that makes the story all that much more relatable because that seems pretty typical of some people when they’ve had a few too many. Talk about humanizing the creature.
An amazing response for the local shelter
The local shelter said they are “blown away” by the amazing support. The support coming from this singular event makes the shelter staff laugh. Nobody expected such amazing support from a raccoon trashing a liquor store, but the shelter staff is extremely thankful. The money directly helps fund various shelter activities, including training, equipment, and the needs of all the animals and officers at the shelter. This amazing support shows what can happen when a crazy and unfortunate incident is used to create something positive.
Can you buy some of the “Trashed Panda” merchandise?
If you want to buy the merch that honors the drunk raccoon that trashed a Virginia liquor store, you can do that through the Bonfire website. Originally, the end date of the fundraising event was December 8, but it might be changed and extended to allow more support and more donations to pour into the Hanover County animal shelter. The merchandise sold includes t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, and travel tumblers. Orders that were placed by December 8 are expected to be delivered before the end of the year, but new orders could take longer to arrive.
Would you try a “Trashed Panda” cocktail?
The Virginia ABC has taken the trashing of the liquor store and turned it into inspired cocktails. Of course, if the raccoon mixed some liquors, you might not want to drink the same thing as the creature, but a few cocktails with some added fun names could be something to enjoy at your next party. These cocktails include a Rye Rascal Sour, Midnight Masked Gin Fizz, and Trash Panda Old Fashioned. The Virginia ABC website provides the recipes for the drinks.
What happened to the drunk raccoon that inspired the Virginia merch buzz?
The raccoon in question broke into the Ashland ABC store on November 29 and fell through one of the ceiling tiles. It went on a rampage in the store and drank lots of alcohol. Surprisingly, it was still alive when authorities arrived and was safely captured and returned to the wild. Now, this raccoon has a great story to tell its friends in the forest about the night it went on a bender and ended up in a bathroom.
This has to be one of the craziest animal stories of all time, and the best part is how the drunk raccoon in Virginia became a hit of its own merch that supports the local animal shelter. Whoever thought of creating the products and putting them on the fundraising site certainly helped a lot of animals in need at the shelter. Hopefully, the ABC store has found where the raccoon got in and closed it up, so this doesn’t happen again.
