A Barrie police officer found himself in quite the stinky situation after coming across a skunk in need of saving.
Const. David Edgar and another officer were at the tail end of a busy overnight shift on Thursday when they were flagged down at around 4 a.m by a resident.
Getting out of the vehicle, the officers immediately noticed a skunk running frantically in circles in a parking lot with its head stuck inside a plastic bottle.
They considered waiting to call animal control, but soon realized they would have to take matters into their own hands.
"We weren't able to get animal control until about eight or 8:30, four hours in that state wouldn't be fair to that animal," Const. Edgar said.
The officer decided he would come to the rescue of the distressed animal.
"I did not want to get sprayed. I took one shot, grabbed it by the plastic bottle, ripped it off... and he sprayed."
Luckily, Const. Edgar escaped the dousing.
"In 10 years of policing, I've run away from deer, I've run away from angry dogs, I've run away from angry geese. I don't think I've ever run away from anything that fast."
When asked why he helped the critter, the officer answered it's all part of the job.
"I can't justify not doing it. So if it did spray me, that would be a bad day. But I'm sure that animal was having a worse day."
