LIST: Richmond’s best animal moments of 2025
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- What better way to bring in the new year than to recap the best moments of Richmond's favorite animal celebrities?
Keep scrolling for 8News' top moments.
Francine the cat's disappearing act
Francine, a well-known local cat who has lived at the Lowe’s on 1640 West Broad St. in Richmond for eight years, gave people quite a scare back in September 2025 when she went missing.
Francine returns to Lowe's in Richmond after she was missing for weeks. (Photos: Lowe's Home Improvement)
During a three-week search, it was discovered that Francine had wandered onto a semi-truck leaving Richmond for North Carolina and ended up at a distribution center there. She was then found safe at Lowe’s Garysburg, North Carolina, distribution center.
The Richmond community then celebrated Francine's return with a "Francine Fest" and even rolled out the blue carpet for her.
Francine returns to Lowe's in Richmond after she was missing for weeks. (Photos: Lowe's Home Improvement)
In an attempt to, hopefully, prevent Francine from going missing again, she has been equipped with an AirTag.
If you're planning to visit Francine in the new year, make sure to go before she decides to go on another adventure!
Poppy the pygmy hippo's first birthday party
Poppy the pygmy hippo turned one year old on Dec. 9, prompting the Metro Richmond Zoo team threw a belated birthday party on Dec. 27, where guests, community members and Poppy’s fans came out to celebrate.
(William Berksteiner/8News)
(William Berksteiner/8News)
Poppy had quite the year, from her public debut at the Hippo Haven Habitat back in the spring, to landing her face on merch for the Richmond Flying Squirrels shortly thereafter -- one of Poppy's new year's resolutions might be to take some time for herself.
Iris and Poppy, two pygmy hippos at the Metro Richmond Zoo. (Photos: Metro Richmond Zoo)
(Photo courtesy: Richmond Flying Squirrels)
Iris and Poppy, two pygmy hippos at the Metro Richmond Zoo. (Photos: Metro Richmond Zoo)
(Photo courtesy: Richmond Flying Squirrels)
Iris and Poppy, two pygmy hippos at the Metro Richmond Zoo. (Photos: Metro Richmond Zoo)
Make sure to check out how you can see Poppy and her mother, Iris, in person by visiting the Metro Richmond Zoo website.
Patches the cat's weight loss journey
Patches, a cat surrendered to Richmond Animal Care and Control that weighed 42 pounds, ended up at less than 20 pounds in 2025, after losing over half of his body weight.
Ford adopted Patches on April 19, 2023 and began what would eventually turn out to be a 27-month weight loss journey.
Photo from Patches' adoption day on April 19, 2023.
Patches the cat laying down during an interview with 8News in July, 2023 (Photo: Tyler Thrasher/WRIC)
(Photos: Kay Ford)
Photo of Patches taken by Kay Ford.
(Photo: Nikkita Tyler/8News)
The weight loss was possible through a close relationship forged between Ford and Dr. Meaghan Godwin at Wellesley Animal Hospital. Patches managed to lose over 20 pounds through calorie count, having smaller meals throughout the day and increased exercise.
Patches even made a public appearance at Douglas S. Freeman High School’s service art class in October 2025, where he met with art students with special needs.
You can track Patches weight loss journey yourself by clicking here.
Raccoon, aka 'Trashed Panda', ransacks Hanover ABC store
In a moment that might be one of the best of 2025, and maybe even the past decade, a raccoon broke into an ABC store in Hanover, ransacked the shelves and ended up passed out on the bathroom floor.
Nov. 29 incident involving a raccoon breaking into a Hanover County Virginia ABC store. (Photo: Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter)
Nov. 29 incident involving a raccoon breaking into a Hanover County Virginia ABC store. (Photo: Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter)
Nov. 29 incident involving a raccoon breaking into a Hanover County Virginia ABC store. (Photo: Virginia ABC)
And somehow, it only gets better from there, with the unveiling of video evidence, the launch of a limited-edition T-shirt campaign, an advertisement campaign and raccoon-inspired cocktails -- all within the couple of months of 2025.
(Photo: Hanover County Animal Proection and Shelter)
(Courtesy of Spirited Virginia)
The final cherry on top of the wacky situation was the reveal that this furry suspect is a serial offender.
“This is not the first time he’s been in one of the buildings,” said Animal Protection Officer Samantha Martin, referring to the strip mall in which the ABC store is located. “Supposedly, this is the third break-in he’s had. He was in the karate studio — I think he got into the DMV [and] ate some of their snacks one time.”
Did we miss one? Let us know by sending an email to news@wric.com.
