Staff arriving for work at a liquor store in Virginia, in the United States, were stunned to find that a wild raccoon had got into the shop, drunk alcohol and was lying there intoxicated.

The store said the incident happened earlier this week. The raccoon was found lying between the bathroom and a rubbish bin. It had opened several bottles from the bottom shelf by itself and drunk from them.

Samantha Martin, an officer with Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter, came and took the raccoon away, but first the animal was given some time to come to its senses.

After a few hours' sleep, the animal was found to have no signs of injury, though it had a mild hangover. Once it had sobered up and returned to normal, it was safely released back into the woods.

The store, named Ashland ABC, had been closed for Thanksgiving, and it was in that gap that what staff called the "Black Friday break-in" took place. When workers arrived on Saturday 29 November, they found broken bottles everywhere and liquor spilled across the floor, with clear evidence that Scotch was the raccoon's drink of choice.

Officer Martin said the raccoon had broken through a ceiling tile, dropped down and then gone on a full rampage, swallowing whatever it could find.

Only one blurry CCTV clip of the incident was found, so no one can say for sure exactly how much the raccoon drank before passing out in the bathroom.

In a social media post, the store thanked Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter for its professional help and for rescuing its unconscious guest and releasing it into the woods.

Laughing about the incident, Officer Martin said it was just another ordinary day in the life of an animal control officer.

Source: Jagonews24 (from BBC). First published in Bengali on The Agro News.