NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Paramedics have to be ready for everything, but on Sunday, a Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) first responder experienced his first-ever animal rescue. It wasn’t a cat or a dog. It was a raccoon with a soup can stuck around its head.

Stewart Uzzell’s ambulance had just gone online at 5:30 A.M. for a 12-hour shift. Before he and his partner could leave the parking lot, he heard the sound of rattling rings of a can bumping into walls, followed by the sight of rings on a twice-masked bandit’s tail,

“I saw this little raccoon running down the side of the road with his head stuck in the can, and we thought, ‘Oh no. We’ve got to help this thing,'” Uzzell said.

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Uzzell saw the raccoon heading toward traffic, so he and other paramedics scooped up the critter. They say its fur was packed so tightly inside the can that they could not pull it off, and they worried how much oxygen the raccoon was getting.

“He stayed pretty calm. Just kind of pet him like you would a house pet, and he probably sensed something good was going on,” Uzzell remembered.

The first responders’ can-do attitude came in handy. As did their ambulance, equipped with specialized shears and a ring cutter.

“They split the can down the side enough for us to work it out,” Uzzell said.

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The raccoon instantly was in a hurry. The “souper” heroes called out, “Be free”, as the animal ran off to find his next meal. Uzzell said even though it was his most unique patient, his approach was the same as always.

“Just helping with somebody or something in distress, and if you can lend a hand, do so. Render aid,” Uzzell stated.