Pumpkin the Raccoon was a female raccoon raised as a house pet in Nassau, Bahamas. What made her stand out from typical pet accounts was the absurdity and charm of a raccoon living a fully domesticated life. She ate pizza and edamame at the family dinner table, took baths with rubber ducks, learned to use a toilet, and napped in elaborate poses on the couch1. Her bond with the family's two rescue dogs, Toffee and Oreo, gave the account its emotional core. Pumpkin treated them as her mothers, cuddling with them and roughhousing until they'd had enough2.

The account thrived on the contrast between Pumpkin's wild raccoon instincts and her pampered domestic life. She could be moody, destructive, and mischievous. Once she turned on every faucet in the house while the family was away, flooding the place3. But she was also affectionate, licking tears off her owner Laura Young's face during tough moments7.

Pumpkin's rise coincided with the explosion of animal influencer accounts on Instagram in the mid-2010s. She was covered by CBS News1, BBC5, CNN6, Daily Mail7, Us Weekly2, and Garden & Gun3, among others. Her crossover appeal went beyond typical pet accounts because of the inherent absurdity of a raccoon eating at a dinner table with a knife and fork.

Laura Young published the book *Pumpkin: The Raccoon Who Thought She Was a Dog*, which told Pumpkin's story and documented her relationship with Toffee and Oreo2. The book gave the account a narrative arc beyond daily Instagram posts.

Pumpkin also served as an ambassador for animal rescue causes. Through partnerships with BAARK and the Bahamas Humane Society, the account featured rescue dogs in need of homes and raised donations for both organizations3. During Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, Pumpkin's platform raised funds for World Central Kitchen and hurricane relief6.

Pumpkin's early months were spent recovering from her injuries and adjusting to life indoors. Laura Young later admitted the family was nervous at first. "We had never raised a baby raccoon before," she told the Today show in 2015, "but with the guidance of friends that had experience, we cared for her"2. Pumpkin quickly took to her canine housemates. She considered Toffee and Oreo her mothers, and her bond with Oreo was especially strong. When Pumpkin was sick, Oreo would lie beside her and offer "kisses"1.

Living with Pumpkin was like living with a "permanent toddler," as Laura described it5. The raccoon was highly intelligent, which made her both entertaining and exhausting. She could open doors, rummage through anything, and had a talent for mischief. Her owners' favorite story involved "the great flood," when Pumpkin turned on every faucet in the house while they were out3. She also destroyed oranges purely for fun, not to eat them1.

Despite the chaos, Pumpkin's personality was magnetic. Her Instagram showed her eating edamame for breakfast, nibbling tiny pancakes, reading "Harry Potter" (propped open in front of her), and lounging in the Bahamian sun with a coconut in her mouth6. CNN described her as "perhaps the first raccoon-fluencer to grace social media"6. She lived in a Bahamian cottage so photogenic it appeared on the cover of Garden & Gun magazine6.

The account took on a philanthropic dimension in 2019 when Hurricane Dorian devastated the neighboring Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama. Pumpkin's platform was used to raise awareness and funds for relief efforts through organizations like World Central Kitchen and the Bahamas Humane Society6. Laura always included a disclaimer in interviews that raccoons are not pets and that injured or orphaned raccoons should be taken to wildlife shelters3.

Pumpkin died in October 2019 at roughly five years old. Wild raccoons typically live only two to three years, so she had already exceeded that lifespan6. Her death came as a shock to the family. Laura Young announced the news on Instagram on October 30, 2019. "I am so completely ruined that I can barely see what I am typing as there are so many tears pouring down my face," she wrote to 1.4 million followers7.

Laura credited Pumpkin with getting her through difficult periods. When she struggled with breastfeeding after having her daughter, Pumpkin would come into the bedroom and lick the tears from her face7. "This little raccoon literally fell into my life when I was going through a tough time. She gave me purpose and gave me confidence," Laura said5. Her husband William summed it up: "She is now forever dreaming of avocados, eggs, and sips of my leftover tea"6.

Laura committed to keeping the Instagram account active in some form to honor Pumpkin's memory. "The format will change but it's important to me to honour our girl Pumps," she wrote5. Pumpkin was survived by the Youngs, their daughter, and rescue dogs Toffee and Oreo6.