Gertie Cleary compared the experience to a child with a splinter. "[W]hen you pull a splinter out, they holler and screech and pull their hand away," she told CTV News.
The young raven fledgling who visited Cleary's Nova Scotia home last month had just borne the brunt of a porcupine attack, and was clearly reaching out to Cleary for help in extracting the painful quills that were attached to its face.
Her daughter caught the amazing incident on camera and uploaded it to YouTube.
According to the description, the bird, which the family named Wilfred, stuck around for a day after the "operation" before flying away.
Hope for Wildlife director Hope Swinimer commended Cleary on her actions, saying Wilfred would not have survived without her help.
Quoth the Raven: "Thanks lady!"
[H/T: Arbroath]