Michael MacMillan shall forever be known as “that skunk guy.”

As thousands of viewers now know, the Orillia-area man courageously freed one of the black-and-white striped creatures after its head became firmly trapped inside a soda can.

The Ramara Township man encountered the troubled skunk on Plum Point Road while leaving for work Monday morning at about 7: 30 a.m.

“I was actually meeting with Mayor Jeff Lehman of the city of Barrie,” said MacMillan, who does land development and IT for the Sarjeant Co. “I thought I was going to have to cancel it because a skunk sprayed.”

Related Content 'Amazing' Orillia cop helps boy build snowman

The animal was roaming in circles, a Coca-Cola can wedged over its head.

“It wandered out into the road and almost got hit by a car right in front of me,” MacMillan said. “My stomach turned and I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something about this. I can’t let an animal die like this.”

Throwing caution to the wind, and armed with his phone in one hand – all the better to capture the moment for posterity – MacMillan approached the skunk.

“I was absolutely certain I was going to get sprayed, so I just decided to start recording it because I wanted to catch the stupidest day of my life on film,” he says with a laugh.

The can had been cut open at one end, likely to catch grease drippings from a barbecue, he suspects.

“I think the animal was probably attracted to fat in the can and maybe tore it off a barbecue somewhere,” he added.