Police received several calls regarding raccoons that appeared to be rabid

Police in West Virginia received a pair of calls about raccoons that appeared to be rabid. But it turned out to be a false alarm because they're just drunk.

On November 13, the Milton Police Department stated on Facebook that it's recently handled several calls about raccoons suspected of having rabies.

"So, Ptl Scarberry made his first apprehension today, taking this masked bandit into custody with assistance of Sgt Collins and several neighborhood residents," the department wrote. "We have had calls on suspected rabid raccoons twice over the last two days."

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Upon further inspection, it "turns out they appear to be drunk on crabapples."

"Ptl Withers caught one yesterday on Brickyard Ave with the help of the city street department. Today’s culprit was on Highland Ave and Mason Street and it was a community effort," the department added.

They later decided to return the raccoons securely to the woods.

Police cautioned residents to be aware of the "staggering and disoriented" raccoon and let them know not to approach the creatures.

Instead, call the authorities because the raccoon could be sick.

The officers earned praises from netizens on Facebook.

One user commented, "It was funny to watch him staggering everywhere, but when he first fell to [the] ground and was kicking I thought he was [dying], but he got up and was really out of it. Thanks to the officers that got him."

"Milton police did the right thing," added another. "Raccoons are vital to an [ecosystem]. Having them healthy is important. We are going to work with them to make sure [their] town has healthy raccoons. If you see one, please report it to them. Thanks so much."

As reported by Daily News, the occurrence comes after the Milton Police released a similar statement in October about the birds in Gilbert, Minnesota, flying “under the influence.”

According to the department, those birds had eaten fermented berries caused by early frost.