It’s not every day that a healthcare professional ends up performing CPR—not on a human patient—but on a raccoon.
A baby raccoon that became drunk from eating fermented peaches and nearly drowned in a dumpster was rescued by a Kentucky nurse who performed CPR on the animal.
When Kentucky nurse Misty Combs headed into work at Letcher County Health Department in Whitesburg, she didn’t expect one of her patients that day to be a wild animal. “I’ve had some pretty crazy days on the job, but nothing like this,” Combs said.
Combs and her co-worker reportedly heard a ruckus happening near the dumpster in the parking lot and noticed a panicked raccoon attempting to rescue two of her pups trapped inside.
“Our health department is right beside Kentucky Mist Moonshine, a distillery, and they had put some fermented peaches in their dumpster, and I guess the baby raccoons had gotten in the dumpster and they were stuck.”
The nurse, Misty Combs
The RN’s “motherly instinct” kicked in, and she knew she had to get the babies out of the dumpster. “I saw that momma and she were trying so hard to get her babies back, and she didn’t know what to do,” Combs said.
She grabbed a shovel and scooped out the first baby raccoon, who ran to its mom — but the second raccoon was face down in the bottom of the dumpster, which was filled with water and moonshine-soaked peaches.
Combs grabbed the raccoon by the tail and pulled it to safety, realizing that it was unresponsive.
“Everybody around was like, ‘It’s dead, it’s not breathing.’ It had drowned, and it was full of water; you could feel the water, so immediately, I just started doing CPR on it.”
Misty Combs
In a now-viral video taken by coworkers, Combs was seen performing compressions on the raccoon’s chest, then flipping it on its side to slap its back.
Combs had never performed CPR on an animal before in her 21 years of nursing, but she stated that she did what she could in the moment to help save its life.
The raccoon eventually began breathing — but Combs was a little reluctant. “The entire time, I was afraid it’d come to and eat me up, and raccoons carry rabies, so I was afraid of that,” Combs revealed.
Before the raccoon could react poorly, Fish and Wildlife responded and took the animal to the local veterinarian, who administered fluids and got the raccoon sober.
Combs and her co-workers named the little guy Otis Campbell, after the “town drunk” character from “The Andy Griffith Show” played by Hal Smith.
The raccoon was later returned to the parking lot of the Health Department, where Combs let Otis back into the wild.
Why This Matters
A nurse rescuing a raccoon is unconventional, but it shows that heroism isn’t bound by expectations.
Combining caring instincts with medical knowledge proves powerful—even when the recipient is wild and unexpected.
The rescue video has resonated widely across social platforms, bringing attention to both wildlife care and the human capacity for empathy.
Misty Combs’s courageous act—a blend of maternal instinct, medical training, and deep compassion—saved a life that might otherwise have been forgotten.
Her decision to provide CPR to a nearly drowned, intoxicated baby raccoon showcases how empathy transcends routine, sparking hope and inspiring admiration even in the most unlikely settings.
This story reminds individuals that sometimes it’s the small, unsolicited gestures—be they for people or animals—that leave the most lasting impact.
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