Morning laugh

here is something really funny that happened yesterday in the boro...


It was so hot Monday, one local skunk trying to drink a Coke was apparently consumed by it.
Murfreesboro Police Officer Mike Fowler saw the varmint in its predicament — head stuck in an aluminum can — as he was patrolling early in the morning amid temperatures in the mid-80s on Old Salem Road.


"I just happened to be passing the area at the site of an old factory," said Fowler. "It was running around in circles bumping into things. I just kept it at bay, tried to keep it from running out in the road and being hit by a car or going across the street to an apartment complex."
Tracy Hill, director of Rutherford County Pet Adoption and Welfare Services, said the plight of this skunk is not unusual among animals.
"Especially if there is some type of food," said Hill. "We've had raccoons to get stuck in mayonnaise jars."
Veronica Mullen, an animal control officer at PAWS, said she recently went out on a call for a skunk that had a McFlurry cup stuck on it.
"It does happen," said Animal Control Officer Kim Lickteig. "They want to get a treat at the bottom of the container."
Fowler escorted the distressed skunk to PAWS around 8:30 a.m. because animal control officers were busy.
"I had to put him to sleep," said Lickteig, who said she is actually a big fan of skunks. "We are mandated by Tennessee Wildlife (Resources Agency) to put them to sleep because skunks are carrying rabies."
Lickteig applauds the police officer for risking getting sprayed and taking the time to help the skunk.
"We didn't know if it was rabid or not," said Fowler. "I was just trying to do it a service by getting the can off its head."