Paramedic in Peel dons Ebola gear to rescue skunk with cup stuck on its head

A paramedic in Peel region suited up in protective gear on Sunday morning — not for an outbreak situation — but for a rescue mission to save a skunk with a cup stuck on its head.

Justin Mausz was pulling into the station on Goreway Drive north of Derry Road in Mississauga, Ont., around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, when he spotted the animal in the back parking lot with a cup on its head and the dome lid caught around its neck. The skunk was walking in circles and bumping into the wall. 

"He actually felt bad for him because he was just bumping into the wall," Supt. Jeff Walsh, of Peel Regional Paramedic Services, told CBC News.

Mausz posted video of what he saw on Twitter.

So, he leaped into action to rescue the animal. But to keep the skunk spray, and smell, off his uniform, he donned protective gear used in situations involving infectious diseases, such as Ebola.

"They've got to spend the rest of the day in that," Walsh said of the officers' uniforms.

Treading carefully, Mausz managed to get the cup off of the skunk successfully.

The rescue would have been normal protocol for Mausz, but the paramedic found all the attention it was gaining on social media quite funny, Walsh said.

The cherry on top: He managed to save the animal without getting sprayed in the process.