Raccoon Goes On An Adorable Rampage After Breaking Into Liquor Store & The Jokes Are Priceless

So, a raccoon walks into a liquor store...That might sound like the start of a really bad joke, but instead it's the beginning of a hilarious true story that has captured the attention of people around the country. A December 2025 article in The Guardian recounts the story of a thirsty raccoon who wandered into a liquor store in Hanover County, Virginia. After raising a bit of a ruckus, as evidenced by broken bottles strewn all over the floor, the little critter passed out in the bathroom and was found by employees the next morning. 

Raccoon gets drunk at Virginia liquor store and passes out in the bathroom.

He sneak into a liquor store in Ashland, Virginia.
Once inside, it knocked some bottles over and ended up drinking the alcohol that spilled. It got so drunk that it passed out inside the store's bathroom pic.twitter.com/tB8BeMLcm0

— Paper Parrot (@paperparrot_) August 12, 2026

Samantha Martin, an animal control officer, shared the experience with The Daily Mail: "He fell through one of the ceiling tiles and went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything." Happily, this cute little masked intruder wasn't seriously hurt. After some recovery time — and probably a killer hangover — it was released back into the wild with some crazy stories to share with its fellow masked mischief makers and other adorable thieves with no remorse. 

While you don't read about liquor store break-ins by raccoons every day, animals consuming alcohol is more common than you might think. The same article in The Guardian mentions a 2013 incident in Australia in which a feral pig stole some beer from campers and, according to a witness, "drank all 18 beers, then got involved in an altercation with a cow." 

Animals don't always have to steal alcohol to get tipsy. Some get an unexpected buzz from something more natural: ripe fruit. As fruit ripens and begins to ferment, it can produce alcohol naturally. Some animals can metabolize the alcohol, but their ability to tolerate it varies by species. That's why you should never purposely give wildlife or pets alcohol. Alcohol can cause undesired effects, including vomiting, trouble breathing, tremors, and even death.

But we can still laugh at stories like this, especially when they have a happy ending. We just have to hope this raccoon learned a lesson from its misadventure! If you want more raccoon antics, check out this freeloading raccoon that thinks it's on vacation, and these 10 raccoons going viral for all the wrong reasons.