Sometimes the most heartwarming stories come from the most unlikely places.
A registered nurse in Kentucky just proved that heroes come in all forms – and sometimes they’re found saving drunk raccoons in parking lots.
And Kentucky nurse Misty Combs encountered a drunk raccoon and what happened next blindsided everyone.
Kentucky nurse performs life-saving CPR on intoxicated baby raccoon
Misty Combs thought she’d seen everything in her 21 years as a registered nurse at the Letcher County Health Department in Whitesburg, Kentucky.
But nothing prepared her for what she’d encounter in the parking lot on August 14, 2025.
Combs and her coworkers noticed a frantic mother raccoon darting around the area, clearly in distress and searching for something.
The mystery was solved when they heard chittering sounds coming from a nearby dumpster belonging to Kentucky Mist Distillery.
The local moonshine operation had dumped bags of fermented peaches – leftovers from their signature peach-infused moonshine – into the dumpster, which had filled with rainwater during recent storms.¹
Two baby raccoons had crawled into the dumpster to feast on the boozy fruit and became trapped when the rain started falling.
"I guess the two baby raccoons had gone into the dumpster and they were stuck," Combs explained to LEX 18. "I was like, ‘We have to get them out!’ It was the motherly instinct in me because I saw that momma and she was trying so hard to get her babies back and she didn’t know what to do."²
Using a shovel, Combs was able to rescue the first raccoon, which immediately ran to its relieved mother.
But the second baby was in far worse condition – face down in the water at the bottom of the dumpster, unconscious and reeking of alcohol.
"It was not responsive," Combs recalled. "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."³
That’s when Combs made a split-second decision that would save a life.
What made all the difference
Without hesitation, Combs grabbed the unconscious raccoon by its tail and pulled it from the dumpster.
She laid the soaked animal on its back in the parking lot and began stomach compressions, despite having no training in animal CPR.
Video captured by her coworkers shows Combs vigorously performing stomach compressions while shouting encouragement to the tiny patient.
"Come on, baby! Come on!" she yelled as she worked to revive the waterlogged creature.⁴
Those simple words – "Come on, baby!" – perfectly captured Combs’ determination to save the life in front of her, regardless of species.
For about two minutes, Combs continued the stomach compressions, pressing water out of the raccoon’s lungs with each push.
"Every time I would do a stomach compression, some water would come up and sometimes even a little bit of Styrofoam," she told Alaska’s News Source.⁵
Then, miraculously, the raccoon began spitting up water and started thrashing.
Combs quickly rolled the animal onto its side and patted its back until its breathing steadied.
"It started coming to, which was a miracle, I thought, because we all thought it was dead," she said.⁶
The entire time, Combs was acutely aware of the risks she was taking.
"The entire time I was doing it, I was sort of afraid that it would come to and eat me up," she admitted. "You know, raccoons carry rabies. So I was afraid of that."⁷
But her medical training and natural compassion overrode any fear.
Otis Campbell gets a second chance at life
After successfully reviving the raccoon, Combs and her colleagues called the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
They decided to name their patient Otis Campbell, after the lovable town drunk character from The Andy Griffith Show – a fitting tribute given the circumstances.
A wildlife officer transported Otis to a local veterinarian, who confirmed what everyone already suspected: the raccoon was indeed intoxicated from consuming the fermented peaches.
After receiving fluids and being warmed with blankets, Otis made a full recovery.
The next morning, he was returned to the health department parking lot where his ordeal began.
Combs had the honor of releasing Otis back into the wild, opening his cage and watching as he scampered away toward the bridge where his family was waiting.
"I was surprised it lived, and so it was amazing to see something that I helped bring back to life," Combs reflected.⁸
Colin Fultz, owner of Kentucky Mist Distillery, initially thought the whole story was a joke when his employee called him.
"I thought it was just a joke," Fultz told CBC Radio. "I said, ‘Oh God, if that guy dies, we’re hurting.’"⁹
But Fultz was extremely grateful for Combs’ quick thinking and has since asked the city to provide a lidded dumpster to prevent similar incidents.
Look, here’s what makes this story so special
This isn’t just another quirky animal rescue story – it’s a perfect example of what American values look like in action.
Here’s a healthcare worker who saw a creature in distress and didn’t think twice about putting herself at risk to help.
No government program told her to do it. No policy manual covered raccoon CPR. She just saw something that needed help and acted.
That’s the kind of personal responsibility and compassion that built this country.
And those three words she kept repeating – "Come on, baby!" – show you everything you need to know about the heart of someone who dedicates their life to saving others.
Combs could have walked away. She could have said it wasn’t her job. Instead, she got down in that parking lot and fought for a life that everyone else had given up on.
The story has gone viral because it reminds us what real heroism looks like – it’s not always dramatic or glamorous. Sometimes it’s a nurse in scrubs doing chest compressions on a drunk raccoon while yelling encouragement.
And honestly, in a world full of bad news and division, we could all use more people like Misty Combs – folks who see something that needs help and just roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Otis Campbell may have learned his lesson about staying away from fermented fruit, but the rest of us learned something too about what compassion in action really looks like.
¹ Sheena Goodyear, "Kentucky nurse gives CPR to drunk baby raccoon trapped in a dumpster," CBC Radio, September 10, 2025.
² Staff Reporter, "Letcher County nurse revives drunk raccoon found in dumpster with CPR," LEX 18, September 12, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Mark Tanos, "Kentucky Nurse Rescues Booze-Soaked Raccoon From Moonshine Dumpster," The Daily Caller, September 9, 2025.
⁵ Staff Reporter, "Nurse saves drunk baby raccoon by doing CPR," Alaska’s News Source, September 12, 2025.
⁶ Sheena Goodyear, "Kentucky nurse gives CPR to drunk baby raccoon trapped in a dumpster," CBC Radio, September 10, 2025.
⁷ Staff Reporter, "Nurse in Kentucky goes viral for giving CPR to drunken raccoon," Yahoo News, September 7, 2025.
⁸ Staff Reporter, "Watch: Kentucky nurse saves drunk baby raccoon with CPR," UPI, September 8, 2025.
⁹ Sheena Goodyear, "Kentucky nurse gives CPR to drunk baby raccoon trapped in a dumpster," CBC Radio, September 10, 2025.
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