The raccoon that got drunk in a Virginia liquor store last month has become the viral video gift that keeps on giving: An animal shelter has raised $292,826 selling “Trashed Panda” merchandise.
Fundraising merchandise platform Bonfire has sold mugs, tumblers, stickers, shirts and hoodies featuring the nickname for the Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter.
Animal protection officer Samantha Martin told the public access “Hear in Hanover” podcast that “Bonfire.com reached out to us like, ‘oh, that would be a hilarious idea. Let’s do that.’ And we didn’t think it was going to get this much money. We were just thinking for ourselves like, ‘Oh, I personally want a sweatshirt. This is hilarious.’ … They offered to make T-shirts for us and then just give us the proceeds for it.”
The campaign has sold 19,234 items toward its goal of 19,500. The Bonfire website did not list a monetary benchmark for how much the campaign aims to raise.
The money is flowing in for the Hanover County shelter at a key time and will pay for needed upgrades.
“We desperately need it because our shelter is extremely old and the county is growing like wildfire. We can’t keep up. We need more kennel space. We need a bigger well. We just need a bigger shelter for the size of the county,” Ms. Martin told “Hear in Hanover.”
The “Trashed Panda” became famous after it found its way into the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority store in Ashland, about 15 miles north of Richmond on Nov. 29. The raccoon broke bottles of booze, got drunk and passed out in a bathroom before being found.
Ms. Martin told “Hear in Hanover” that the raccoon, which has a territory near the liquor store, has previously broken into the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles location and a karate studio in the same shopping center.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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