Uplifting story out of the Mid-Atlantic region where a raccoon found passed out drunk in a liquor store bathroom ended up raising over $200,000 for a local animal shelter. The story begins December, 2025 when Hanover County Animal Protection were called to remove a raccoon that was passed out drunk in the bathroom of the ABC Liquor Store in Ashland, Virginia.
The masked bugler had gone on a drinking spree prior its snooze on the bathroom floor, sampling a wide variety of spirits off the store’s shelves including moonshine, peanut butter whiskey, vodka and eggnog. He made a bit of a mess along the way.
“On Saturday morning, Officer Martin responded to an unusual call at the Ashland ABC Store. Upon arrival, she discovered the suspect had broken in and ransacked several shelves, and thenpassed out in the bathroom.
Officer Martin safely secured our masked bandit and transported him back to the shelter to sober up before questioning. After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices) he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer.” -Hanover County Animal Protection
Hanover County Animal Protection posted pictures of the debaucherous drinking spree to its social media where they quickly shared throughout the local community, eventually garnering national attention. Colloquially known as “trash panda” due their love of scavenging garbage cans and dumpsters, this little outlaw raccoon became known as the “trashed panda.”
Shortly after the story went viral a company called Bonfire partnered with the animal shelter to sell Trashed Panda merch just in time for the holiday gift buying season. The t-shirts and sweatshirts were an absolute smash hit and raised $30,000 overnight and went on raise $200,000 to date. All the profits from sales went to the animal shelter.
Lovely story of a liquor-fueled rampage turning into a super lucrative fundraising opportunity for a worthwhile charitable organization. Kudos to Officer Martin for handling the bizarre situation with professionalism and to all those who pitched in and bought some merch. If want to be part of the fun and help shelter pets, grab your Trashed Panda merch here.
Here’s a quick interview with Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter Officer Martin sharing her firsthand account of the Black Friday Bandit:
BONUS: Trashed Panda also inspired this song composed by Russ “River Summers” Francis
images from Bonfire & Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter
