If you saw a skunk in peril, would you risk your own smell-wellbeing to save him?
This man, Hero of the Year, saved a skunk from surefire death by helping him remove a soda can from his head.
“Skunk?” he says softly, a few moments after watching the creature bobble around in circles with a can for a head. You already know by the tone of his voice this is a guy wearing a beard and some flannel, but not like, because it’s trendy. “Please don’t spray me, I’m not gonna hurt ya,” he pleads, stepping closer. You can hear the fear in his voice. He’s trying not to cry, almost?
“Come on over here. I’ll take that off your head. Please don’t be scared,” he continues. And you know what? The skunk DOES come on over there, slow and clumsy. It’s like the animal knows that this man is the nicest human on the planet and it’s lucky to have stumbled into this nightmare in his vicinity. “Don’t be upset, I’ll take that off your head now,” he says, grabbing the can firmly. The skunk reacts appropriately, with an “Oh shit, something ELSE has a hold on my freaking head now” attempt to scuttle backwards. “Come on baby, you can do this,” the man soothes at 1:34. At this point I have completely melted inside.
After a few tense seconds locked in mutual fear and desperation, the can pops off and the skunk is free.
“In response to comments, I don’t think the can was litter or from recycling, but rather a fat drippings can from a BBQ,” the video uploader writes in the description. This raccoon was just trying to get at that delicious coagulated pork fat coating the inside of the can. Totally understandable.
The video was recorded near Orillia, Ontario, which explains some of the overwhelming patience and kindness displayed here. In the U.S., we’re too busy drunkenly invading Canada on rafts, drunkenly turning pickup trucks into pools, or drunkenly fucking shit up on commuter trains to save innocent creatures.
I want this man coaching me through my life.
