Skunked: Pennsylvania police save critter tangled in pitching net

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — This job really stunk. But someone had to do it.

>> Read more trending news

Two police officers from suburban Pittsburgh were given the unenviable job of freeing a skunk from a pitching net late last month, WPXI-TV reported.

According to a Facebook post by the Ross Township Police Department, officers Robert Farina and Gregory Garcia were called Tuesday morning to help the skunk out of a tight situation.

One officer approached the skunk from behind with a blue, tarp-like covering, while the other officer walked toward the animal with a gray plastic bin.

“Oh, God, he’s shooting at me,” one officer can be heard saying in the video.

The skunk, distracted by the officer behind it, does not see the second officer, who places the bin over the animal while using a pair of scissors to cut away the net.

The agitated skunk is spraying from inside the container, and the officers know it.

“Oh, God. That’s horrible,” one officer says, according to the video.

The two officers then lift the bin and run for cover as the skunk waddles away unharmed.

The owner thanked the officers, who took the smell in stride despite occasional retching.

“That’s OK, I’ve just gotta work another 14 hours,” one officer says.

“What is police work like, you ask?” the Ross Township Police Department wrote on Facebook. “Here are Officers Farina and Garcia going ‘above and beyond’ to rescue a skunk trapped in a pitching net.”

©2022 Cox Media Group