May 10, 2025, 9:15 am | Read time: 3 minutes
“You see everything if you live long enough.” This saying couldn’t be more fitting for a group of police officers in the U.S. state of Ohio: During a traffic stop, the officers discovered a raccoon with drugs.
The police officers were quite surprised when they found a raccoon in a car during a traffic stop in Springfield. That alone would be unusual. But the animal wasn’t just sitting in the driver’s seat—it was actively using drugs: The officers caught the raccoon with a crystal meth pipe in its mouth. What sounds like a story from the animated series “The Simpsons” is actually bizarre reality. 1
“Things Took an Unusual Turn”
The incident occurred after a police officer identified a vehicle whose owner had an outstanding warrant and a revoked driver’s license. According to the report from the responsible police department, the owner was arrested without significant incident. When one of the officers returned to the vehicle of the arrested individual, he could hardly believe his eyes upon opening the car. “Things took an unusual turn,” the police press release stated.
Sitting in the driver’s seat was a raccoon with a crystal meth pipe in its mouth—undoubtedly the strangest encounter on patrol. The glass methamphetamine pipe prompted the officer to further investigate the vehicle. He discovered a large amount of methamphetamine, some crack, and three used glass meth pipes.
Raccoon Caught with Crystal Meth Was Fortunate
But Chewy, the name of the raccoon, was fortunate in misfortune. As the police wrote in their report, “no raccoon was injured in this incident.” “Fortunately, Chewy the raccoon was not injured, and the appropriate authorities were notified to determine if [the driver] had the proper papers and documents for the raccoon’s possession.”
Nevertheless, the incident has consequences for the 55-year-old owner of the raccoon and the car. She faces multiple drug charges in court and was also summoned for driving under the influence. 2 As bizarre as the story of the drug-using raccoon may sound, Chewy is unfortunately not the first animal to be literally taken off the streets due to drugs.
Expert Explains Why Protection Dog Sports Have Such a Bad Reputation
Victims of abducted dog: “The worst part was the constant uncertainty”
Some Animal Shelters Now Test New Arrivals for Drugs in Their System
In recent years, the story of a serval named Amiry made headlines, who was also picked up during a traffic stop and was found to have cocaine in his system. But why was the serval tested for drugs in the first place? This has been part of the standard protocol at some animal shelters in the U.S. for several years. The trigger was a capuchin monkey named Neo. The monkey was confiscated by the animal protection agency after a veterinarian saw disturbing videos of the animal.
The footage of the monkey suggested something was wrong with the animal. The veterinarian quickly voiced a serious suspicion: Someone might have given the capuchin monkey the sedative Xanax or cocaine. A subsequent drug test showed amphetamines in the monkey’s body, after which the veterinarians treated it accordingly. Since then, some animal shelters have started testing all new arrivals for drugs. 3