Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
matteo catanese PI8Hk 3ZcCU unsplash?width=719&height=464&fit=crop&auto=webp
matteo catanese PI8Hk 3ZcCU unsplash?width=398&height=256&fit=crop&auto=webp
/ Unsplash
Culture > News

Just In Time For 4/20, A Woman Had To Bring Her Very Stoned Pet Raccoon To The Fire Department For Help

Firefighters in Wayne Township, Indiana were woken up in the middle of the night to their ringing doorbell in early April.

The result of the ringing?

A woman seeking help for her pet raccoon, which she claimed had been exposed to a lot of marijuana. According to firefighters at the firehouse, the raccoon was displaying signs of marijuana exposure, including moving slowly and being lethargic.

Shortly after the woman’s 2 AM visit, dispatchers began calling for help as firefighters struggled to find the right solution to help the woman’s stoned raccoon. Radio recordings show the firefighters’ confusion, as they try to figure out what the raccoon was high on. Besides marijuana, some emergency responders speculated stronger substances like meth and heroin. Fortunately, the raccoon did not seem to be on either of those drugs.

In the end, firefighters were left scratching their brains – and without any solid solution. They sent the raccoon and its owner home to let the raccoon sleep off the high.

But even a week later, the department is still laughing over the incident.

Mike Pruitt, the Wayne Township Fire Captain, said that the department wished the best for the raccoon and his owner, though they aren’t sure why the vet wasn’t the first stop.

“We hope that everything worked out with the raccoon,” Pruitt said. “We’d be sad to hear that it didn’t.” 

Arielle Kimbarovsky is a writer, artist, and recent Broadway fan studying advertising at Boston University. When she's not writing an article, you can find Arielle drinking too much coffee or taking on casual projects like sending cameras into space.