Raccoon crashes through ceiling of Allegheny County business, leaving owner with canceled orders
PITTSBURGH —
Jessica Torres, owner of MH Custom Studios in Carrick, is grappling with extensive damage to her business after a raccoon broke in early Tuesday morning, leaving behind a mess and forcing her to temporarily close the shop.
“I thought I was dreaming when I saw glowy eyes,” Torres said.
At 3 a.m., security footage captured the raccoon climbing through the ceiling of her shop.
The video shows the animal wandering around the store, leaving behind urine, paw prints, and other damage.
“It was just crawling. It was here for a good, like, long time. As you can see, all the urine and all the mess that he — that’s there,” Torres said.
The damage extended from furniture the raccoon landed on to the paw prints at the register and into the back room.
Torres said the destruction has disrupted her business operations and caused her to cancel orders.
“I had to cancel orders that were being picked out because I don’t know what guidance, like if there’s any feces or urine in it. So I had to cancel orders. I had a custom carpet almost completed. I don’t even know if that’s destroyed. So right now it’s just a waiting game. I’m waiting for a biohazard company to come out and take a look at it, what I have to discard and how we can go about cleaning it,” Torres said.
Torres is also worried that the raccoon might still be inside the building.
“As a new business owner, you try and then you have this, you know, literally falling down on you. So, I mean, I’m trying to get it together,” she said.
She is waiting for her property manager to seal the entry point and for her insurance company to send someone to assess the damage.
In the meantime, Torres said her shop will remain closed, and she is uncertain about the future of her inventory and business.
If you would like to donate to her GoFundMe, click here.