Dunkin' Drive-Thru Surprise: Raccoon's Perfect Etiquette Leaves Patient Customer in Awe

Raccoons. Nature's bandits. They know how to get what they want and although some folks would call them "forbidden cats," they're actually more closely related to bears than felines or dogs. If you live in an area with black bears and have seen the big balls of hibernating fluff rummaging through trash cans then you'll see the resemblance.

Scientifically, they're classified as Procyonidae, and we could get into the granular specifics of other species they're related to, but the nocturnal ring-tailed creatures are mostly lauded for being adorable and sneaky. So much so that there are throngs of different social media accounts dedicated to the adorable-ness of these creatures with fans ogling over how cute they are.

And while plenty of folks want to keep raccoons as pets, despite urgings from experts advising against doing so, there seems to be a way to win their hearts over: by giving them food.

This was perfectly demonstrated in a viral TikTok in a Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru posted by Samantha Jane Guptil (@samguptuppy).

Samantha writes in a text overlay of the video: "Dude should know you can't walk up to the drive-thru." In the clip, they record a raccoon emerging from the bushes that cautiously walks up to the drive-thru window.

"What in the world...my dude he wants Dunkin' Donuts." she can be heard saying off-camera, as she zooms in on the animal and proceeds to drive closer. She then pans the camera to the window, where a Dunkin' Donuts employee can be seen holding something.

"Don't hit him, don't hit him," Samantha tells the driver of the vehicle as the raccoon, unafraid, waits patiently in front of the window. The employee then opens the window and it appears that they have a donut in their hands to give to the cute little creature.

"Are they gonna give him a donut? Oh, they're gonna give him a donut. Oh my God, do it," she says. "Oh look at him waiting!" she says as the raccoon sits on his behind and looks up at the Dunkin' Donuts worker.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" she says as the employee leans out of the window and holds a white-frosted donut, which the raccoon gently takes from her hands and begins munching on.

The animal clamps down on it with its teeth and then begins to scurry off with it into the bushes as Samantha can be heard laughing off-camera with the driver of the vehicle.

Folks who saw the interaction were tickled pink by the interaction between the Dunkin' Donuts employee and the raccoon. One TikTok user wrote: "They have a pet raccoon"

While another wanted to know how the relationship between workers of the store and the woodland creature even began in the first place: "I need to hear from the Dunkin workers and also the raccoon. I need all sides to how this started because I’m obsessed"

Someone else thought that the way the employee handed it to the little critter instead of just tossing it over to them was adorable: "The fact that she handed it to the raccoon, rather than tossing it. My heart."

Another person thought that the food chain secured a valuable piece of marketing content with the video Samantha uploaded: "Dunkin has to use this for a commercial!"

Others were convinced from the body language of the animal along with the interaction between them and the Dunkin' Donuts worker that it was clearly not the raccoon's first time visiting the location and securing some sweets.

"He’s definitely a regular lmao. I’d do the same hahahaha," one wrote.

Someone else penned, "I was expecting a toss, but seeing him teach up for our was so much better. This obviously isn't his first time."