Something tells us this raccoon might think twice in future about going down a drain in search of food.
It took eight firefighters two hours to free the stricken creature after a passing cyclist took pity and called them to come and help.
The juvenile was pictured clinging onto the drain cover with his head firmly stuck.
The helpless look in his eyes would melt even the hardest of hearts.
When his rescuers came on Thursday morning, the little guy had already been ‘stuck for a while’ after diving into the sewer system looking for food.
At first, firefighters used the tried-and-tested soap and water method – to no avail.
Instead, it just left them with a very angry – and soggy – raccoon.
They then attempted to deploy a technique usually used to remove stuck rings from fingers.
They tightly wound fishing wire around the raccoon’s head hoping to decompress it so it could slide through the grate.
That also failed and left the raccoon even more annoyed (understandably).
In the end, they called Animal Control who sent an officer and vet to see if they could do anything to help.
Captain Eric Fricke from Newton, Massachusetts, told the Washington Post: ‘The raccoon ended up needing to be sedated so that it could relax enough.
‘It was fighting the whole process.’
After it eventually relaxed, the team were able to pry it from its metal prison.
The raccoon is now recovering in a nearby animal shelter and will be released back into the wild once it is given a clean bill of health.
Capt. Fricke added: ‘Everybody’s just happy that there was a positive outcome and they were able to get him out.
‘Hopefully, he will recover and be off to live his life.’
