A raccoon with a taste for booze has turned an animal shelter in Virginia into one of the hottest names in fundraising—thanks to a line of "Trashed Panda" merch. The Hanover County Animal Protection & Shelter in Hanover, Va., has raked in more than $156,000 as of Monday, all thanks to a raccoon that broke into a Virginia liquor store, sampled the wares, and was discovered passed out in the bathroom over Thanksgiving weekend, USA Today reports.
The shelter's merch—featuring a dazed raccoon, a bottle of booze, and the words "Trashed Panda"—is available for purchase on Bonfire, with prices ranging from $5 for stickers to $42 for hoodies. Items are expected to ship before Christmas, WTVR reports. As the shelter notes on Facebook, the funds are more than just a good laugh; they're going toward training, equipment, and care for local animals.
The story doesn't end with T-shirts and hoodies. The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC), which runs the ransacked store, has cooked up three new cocktails in honor of the raccoon: the Rye Rascal Sour, Midnight Masked Gin Fizz, and Trash Panda Old Fashioned. ABC's recipes for the libations include edited images of a raccoon holding each one, the New York Post reports.
The raccoon's adventure began when it crashed through a ceiling tile at the Ashland ABC store on Nov. 29, then "went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything," animal protection officer Samantha Martin told the AP. WRIC has snippets of newly-released surveillance footage showing the raccoon's hijinks. The animal, found unconscious in a bathroom, was eventually captured and returned to the wild, apparently none the worse for wear, officials say.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
