If you had asked the residents of Maplewood Hollow a month ago what their town would one day be famous for, most would have guessed the standard small-town fare: the annual blueberry festival, maybe the historic covered bridge, or perhaps the local high-school basketball team that once — twice, if you count the forfeit — made it to the regional finals in the late 90s.
No one, absolutely no one, would have predicted that their local claim to fame would be a raccoon.
A very drunk raccoon.
And yet, the creature now affectionately known around town — and increasingly, around the internet — as “Trashed Panda” has become Maplewood Hollow’s most unexpected celebrity and, as fate would have it, its most successful philanthropist.
This is his story: how one mischievous late-night buffet at a liquor store spiraled into viral fame, a booming T-shirt line, and thousands of dollars raised for an underfunded animal shelter.
A Night of Chaos, Claws, and Cabernet
It all started with what was supposed to be a quiet Tuesday evening at Henderson’s Liquor Sundries, a cozy, longtime family-owned shop nestled between a barber shop and a bakery on Main Street.
Co-owner Marla Henderson remembers the night well — though she admits she first thought she was hallucinating.
“It was 3:14 AM,” she says, checking the clock on the store’s security footage monitor. “I only remember because the timestamp was burned into my brain after replaying that video a hundred times. The alarm triggered, and I figured it was a mouse or maybe that stray cat that’s been trying to get in for months. I rolled out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt, and drove down to the store.”
What she found, however, was far more dramatic than she expected: the glass pane of the side door cracked at the corner — just enough room for a small animal to squeeze through — and inside, a whirlwind of toppled bottle displays, shredded snack packages, and sticky puddles of assorted liquors.
“At first I thought a bear had gotten in,” Marla laughs, “but then I heard this little grunt from over by the whiskey aisle.”
There, splayed out on his back like an overindulged holiday guest, was the culprit: a chubby raccoon, his paws curled loosely around a broken miniature bottle of peach schnapps, eyes glassy and unfocused.
“He tried to stand up,” Marla recalls, “but he did that thing toddlers do where they wobble too far forward and immediately fall over again. Poor little guy was absolutely hammered.”
She called animal control — not to report a break-in, she clarifies, but because she was worried the raccoon had ingested something dangerous. After a groggy capture and a somewhat comedic attempt to bite the air rather than the net, the raccoon was taken to the Maplewood Hollow Animal Rehabilitation Center, where staff worked quickly to stabilize him.
“He was dehydrated, woozy, and smelled like a bar floor on New Year’s Eve,” says Dr. Felix Ramirez, the center’s lead veterinarian. “But he was otherwise unharmed. In fact, considering the amount of liquor he’d spilled on himself, he was surprisingly resilient.”
The raccoon slept off his debauchery and was affectionately dubbed “Trashed Panda” by staff — a name that spread rapidly once Marla shared the security footage online.
From Liquor Looter to Internet Star
Marla didn’t expect much when she posted the clip to social media. She assumed it might get a few laughs from locals, maybe a couple of shares from neighboring towns. She certainly didn’t expect what happened next.
“The video had ten thousand views by noon,” she recalls. “By the next day, it was up to two million.”
Within a week, major news outlets had picked up the story. Headlines poured in:
- “Sauced Bandit Strikes Small Town Liquor Store”
- “Raccoon’s Drunken Escapade Leaves Internet in Stitches”
- “Maplewood Hollow’s Furry Felon Goes Viral”
Memes followed. Fan art appeared. One popular illustration depicted the raccoon wearing sunglasses, lounging on a pile of empty mini-bottles like a victorious pirate. Another showed him being escorted out of a store by two police officers, paws cuffed behind his back.
People wanted to know everything about him: his age (estimated around two years), his weight (hefty), whether he regretted his actions (unclear), and whether he was still drunk (thankfully, no).
Somehow, amid the global fascination, the town realized they had a celebrity on their hands. And celebrities, of course, need merchandise.
The Birth of the “Trashed Panda” T-Shirt
The idea came, appropriately enough, over drinks.
Marla met with Dr. Ramirez and Shelby Crane, the manager of the local animal shelter, at Maplewood Tavern to discuss ways to turn the chaos into something positive.
“The shelter was struggling,” Shelby explains. “We weren’t in danger of closing, but we were operating on fumes. Vet costs were up, stray intakes had risen, and donations were down. We were doing everything we could, but we needed a miracle — or, apparently, a drunk raccoon.”
During the brainstorming session, Marla sketched a quick doodle on a napkin: a raccoon holding a wine bottle like a trophy, a triumphant grin on its face.
“Someone made a joke about how they’d wear that on a T-shirt,” she says. “And that’s when it hit us.”
By the end of the night, they had a plan.
Within two days, local graphic designer Ollie Tran refined Marla’s sketch into a bold, cheeky design featuring the now-iconic raccoon and the text:
TRASHED PANDA
Official Maplewood Hollow Disaster Relief Mascot
It was silly. It was charming. And more importantly, it was instantly beloved.
“We put up a pre-order link assuming we’d sell maybe fifty,” Shelby says. “We sold five hundred in the first 24 hours.”
Orders soon came from as far away as Japan, Brazil, and Norway. A Canadian brewery asked if they could put the raccoon on a limited-edition can. A New York comedy club wanted him as their next mascot for an upcoming event.
But the most important part? Every T-shirt sale sent a 100% donation directly to the animal shelter.
“It still blows my mind,” Shelby says. “This raccoon did more for us in two weeks than any fundraiser we’ve ever run.”
Meet the Star: The Raccoon Behind the Legend
Trashed Panda himself — real name still unknown, despite Shelby’s joking attempt to christen him “Sir Whiskerson Tumblesworth III” — was kept at the rehabilitation center for several days until he was fully sober and healthy.
“He’s honestly a sweetheart,” Dr. Ramirez says. “Mischievous, yes, but very gentle. He’s curious, social, and has this habit of reaching out to hold your glove when you get close. He’s got a lot of personality. ”Staff noted that he wasn’t afraid of humans, which suggested he might have grown up around people. While some raccoons become nuisances in such cases, this one seemed content to lounge, nap, and occasionally try to steal rubber gloves for reasons known only to him.
Though many fans begged for him to become the shelter’s official mascot, the staff stressed that he was a wild animal and needed a natural environment.
“We released him in a protected woodland area once he recovered,” Dr. Ramirez says. “He hesitated for a moment, then shuffled off into the trees like he owned the place. We like to imagine he found his raccoon friends and became a legend among them.”
And yes — before you ask — he has not returned to the liquor store. At least, not yet.
A Community United by Chaos
As the T-shirt orders continued to climb, something unexpected happened: the town began to embrace the raccoon as a symbol of resilience — and humor.
Mayor Brandon Whitaker referred to him as “our furry little ambassador of questionable decisions, teaching us to turn setbacks into opportunities.”
Local bars held “Trashed Panda Happy Hours.” The bakery released raccoon-shaped cookies with icing “liquor bottles.” The high school art class painted murals around downtown showcasing the raccoon on various adventures: riding a bicycle, piloting a blimp, hosting a cooking show. They sold prints to raise more money for the shelter.
And the shelter, in return, used the influx of funds to expand services.
“It wasn’t just T-shirts,” Shelby says. “People who bought them started donating extra. Some sent supplies — food, blankets, toys. Volunteers signed up in record numbers. It wasn’t just a fundraiser anymore; it became a movement.”
A movement that started with a raccoon who didn’t know how to pace himself.
From Viral Chaos to Real Change
Within the first month, the Trashed Panda T-shirt campaign raised just over $58,000 for the shelter — an amount that stunned even the organizers.
“We triple-checked the numbers,” Shelby says. “We thought it had to be a glitch.”
With the funds, the shelter implemented a series of upgrades:
1. Expanded Medical Wing
The money financed new diagnostic equipment, allowing the shelter to treat more animals on-site without outsourcing to clinics with high fees.
2. Outdoor Enrichment Area
A new fenced-in play yard provided exercise and stimulation for dogs and rehabilitating wildlife.
3. Emergency Intake Fund
This reserve ensured the shelter would never again have to turn away an animal due to budget constraints.
4. Community Education Programs
Workshops on wildlife safety, responsible pet ownership, and humane trapping were launched — ironically including a segment on securing food waste to avoid raccoon mischief.
“It feels like we’ve been given a second chance,” Shelby says. “The raccoon gave us that.”
A Cult Hero Is Born
Inevitably, with fame comes… embellishment.
Online legends began to form around Trashed Panda. Fans theorized that he was the leader of a raccoon mafia. Others insisted that he broke into the store as revenge for being chased away from its dumpster weeks before (unconfirmed but plausible, says Marla).
Someone created a conspiracy forum claiming he had escaped from a secret government lab. Another suggested he was immortal. Some insisted the liquor store should add a raccoon loyalty card program.
The town took these in stride.
“We’re just happy people are having fun with it,” Marla says. “Though I wouldn’t complain if the raccoon mafia helped us restock the bourbon aisle.”
The Next Chapter of Trashed Panda
With the T-shirt campaign now a permanent fundraising initiative, the town is working on additional merchandise — mugs, stickers, hats, even a children’s book about making good choices (and what happens when you make hilariously bad ones).
There’s also talk of an annual “Trashed Panda Festival,” which would include:
- A pancake breakfast
- A raccoon-costume fun run
- Educational wildlife exhibits
- A “mocktail garden” for kids
- And, humorously, a “designated driver photo booth”
The shelter supports the idea fully.
“If we can use a raccoon’s antics to help more animals,” Shelby says, “we’re all for it.”
A Legend That Will Outlive the Hangover
Though the raccoon himself has returned to the forest, his legacy continues with every T-shirt worn, every donation made, and every animal saved thanks to the shelter’s newfound resources.
“He didn’t mean to cause trouble,” Dr. Ramirez says with a smile. “He was just being a raccoon. But the effect he had on this community? That part is extraordinary.”
In a world often clouded by heavy news and somber headlines, the story of Trashed Panda reminds people of something simpler — how humor, kindness, and a little absurdity can bring a community together.
Sometimes heroes wear capes.
Sometimes they wear masks.
And sometimes, apparently, they crash through liquor store doors and chug schnapps.
Whatever the case, Maplewood Hollow won’t soon forget its most notorious — and charitable — resident.
Because every town needs a legend.
And every legend needs a little chaos.
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