3 days ago
Owner of raccoon found with meth pipes vows she won't surrender him
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) – Police initiated a traffic stop in early May after learning the driver, Victoria Page-Videl, had an outstanding warrant.
While placing her under arrest, the officers were told there was a raccoon in the car.
At first they thought it might have been a joke, but when officer Austin Branham saw the raccoon lift its head over the driver's side window, he noticed the animal had something unusual in its paws.
'The raccoon, Chewy, popped his head up and when I turned to look inside the vehicle to make sure he doesn't hop out, that's when I noticed he was holding a glass methamphetamine pipe,' said Branham.
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He took the pipe away and immediately noticed that the raccoon, named Chewy, had a second one in his hands.
'Chewy seemed extremely playful. He was kind of just sitting there looking up at us. He was playing around with a plastic bag on the floor. He was going between the driver's seat and the passenger seat, you know, playing around,' said Branham.
The story garnered international attention with the image of a raccoon holding a meth pipe.
FOX 8 News was able to catch up with Page-Videl days after the arrest, living in a car outside of a condemned house in Akron.
She admitted she did not have a permit to keep the animal as a pet and vowed never to surrender Chewy to wildlife officials.
One month later, FOX 8 caught up once again with Page-Videl, now living in a tent, still with several dogs and Chewy.
The state allows raccoons to be kept as pets if they are bought from an approved breeder and the owner has a permit.
No wild caught raccoons can be legally kept as a pet.
On Monday, Page-Videl said she bought Chewy online but she cannot find her bill of sale.
She continues to vow that she will not surrender the animal, fearing Chewy will be euthanized.
'They (wildlife officers) said they were going to put him in a rehab. They would euthanize him because that's what they wanted to do before,' she said on Monday. 'I've had him since he was little and I'm not going to give him up I'm not giving him up.'
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The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife has not yet said what may become of Chewy.
Springfield Township Police Chief Jack Simone told FOX 8 it is his understanding that ODNR is working with Page-Videl's attorney to determine the raccoon's fate.
In the meantime, Page-Videl has been indicted on felony drug charges, facing seven total charges, according to Summit County court records arising out of her arrest in May.
During a hearing on Monday, her attorney filed a customary demand for discovery prior to trial.
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