LARGO, Fla. — Forget the timeworn excuse about the dog. Stephanie King told her music teacher that a raccoon was to blame for her missing homework.

"I explained that the raccoon fell from the ceiling in my bathroom and it ran into my bedroom," the 13-year-old seventh grader at Osceola Middle School told the St. Petersburg Times. "Animal control came out to get it and they couldn't catch it and they said we couldn't go in my room."

Stephanie's grandmother vouched for her story with school officials. On Thursday night, the raccoon finally sauntered into the trap set by Pinellas County Animal Services officers, who picked up the critter the next morning.