(Crankers) A baby raccoon that got drunk after eating fermented peaches and nearly drowned in a dumpster was saved by a Kentucky nurse who performed CPR on the animal.
Misty Combs, a registered nurse at the Letcher County Health Department in Whitesburg, said she and several colleagues noticed a frantic mother raccoon running through the parking lot.
Upon investigating, they found the mother’s two babies trapped inside a dumpster owned by nearby Kentucky Mist Moonshine.
Combs managed to scoop one of the kits to safety with a shovel, but the other was lying face-down in the water at the bottom of the container.
“Everybody around was like ‘It’s dead, it’s not breathing.’ It had drowned and it was full of water, you could feel the water, so immediately, I just started doing CPR on it,” Combs told LEX 18 news.
A video captured Combs performing chest compressions on the baby raccoon, occasionally turning it over and patting its back.
She said she was relieved when the animal suddenly began to breathe again.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officers later took the raccoon to the Isom clinic of veterinarian Dr. Ben Cornett for further care.
Dr. Ben Cornett confirmed the raccoon was intoxicated, administered fluids, and kept it overnight to recover.
The animal was nicknamed Otis Campbell, after the notorious town drunk in The Andy Griffith Show. The next day, Cornett returned the raccoon to the parking lot, where Combs released it to reunite with its mother and sibling.
“I was surprised it lived, and so it was just it was amazing to see something that I helped bring back to life,” Combs told WYMT-TV.
