A California animal shelter helped rescue a raccoon with its head stuck through a hole in the roof of a home.

The Santa Cruz Animal Shelter said in a Facebook post that a local resident called the Wildlife Emergency Services number to report a raccoon had chewed a hole in their roof and became stuck while trying to climb through the opening.

“Knowing that time was critical, they instructed the citizen how to push the raccoon through the hole so it wouldn’t suffocate.”

The shelter said the raccoon turned out to be a mother and was reunited with her babies nearby.

Wildlife Emergency Services personnel were helping the homeowner “set up a repellent barrier to safely and humanely have mama and her kids move along to a more appropriate home.”