Watch: Aurora cops save a skunk from a McFlurry cup

Two Aurora cops risked their personal hygiene to help an animal in need and didn't even get a "thank you."

The skunk, whose head they freed from a McDonald's McFlurry cup, "just ran off" once it could see again, police spokesman Paris Lewbel said.

Officer Jonathan Olsen - who bent down to pull the ice cream cup off the skunk's head - and Lt. Steven Stemmet - who hit record on his smartphone to capture the rescue on video - did not get sprayed, Lewbel said. So they continued their midnight patrol until 6 a.m., none the smellier.

Their shift last week got so busy with more typical police work that Lewbel said Olsen and Stemmet couldn't remember exactly when the skunk assist took place.

What they know, Lewbel said, is they were patrolling at Montgomery Road and Jackson Street when they saw a little black-and-white animal wandering in the middle of the street.

"They weren't called specifically for the skunk," Lewbel said. "They both were out there, they noticed the skunk, and that's when they started trying to help."

The skunk could have thought it was in for a sweet treat - or at least the residue of one - when it was burrowed inside the McFlurry cup at Montgomery and Jackson, 1.2 miles away from the closest McDonald's. But it couldn't go back to regular skunking life until its rescuers arrived and restored its vision.

A video Aurora police posted on YouTube starts with a still shot of the skunk with its head inside the cup, "Flur" side up.

After zooming in on that image for about 5 seconds, it transitions to a quick clip of Olsen, left hand extended, nightstick in his right. Olsen bends down, grabs the bottom of the paper cup, then quickly retreats. The skunk scampers away. Stemmet says, "nice."

The video later replays the whole thing once more, this time in slow-mo.

Last week's encounter wasn't the first time Aurora police have responded to a skunk-in-a-cup scenario. Lewbel said the department dealt with a similar situation last September, during a time of year when skunks run rampant.