Skunked

CARROLLTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Officer James Kellett knows it's his job to serve and protect - even when it comes to nature's stinky black and white creatures.

When a skunk with its head stuck in a salad dressing jar wandered into the Carrollton Township police station's parking lot, he grabbed a pellet gun and shot at the jar from about 40 feet away.

The shots cracked and shattered the jar, leaving a glass collar around the skunk's neck. With its head free, the skunk ran off.

''I didn't want to use deadly force, and it is a residential area,'' Kellett told The Saginaw News. ''The way he was when he took off, he was able to eat, breathe and spray - and do anything else skunks like to do.''

Kellett didn't get much in the way of gratitude, but he's grateful the skunk didn't spray. But there is one bonus - the makers of T. Marzetti's salad dressing are sending the officer coupons good for free