Lex18 / Misty Combs

A baby raccoon got another chance at life after a trash dive went sideways ... and all the credit goes to one animal-loving nurse, who used her skills to save the kit.

Misty Combs , a nurse from Kentucky, tells TMZ ... she was going about her day when she and her coworkers spotted a raccoon in crisis in the parking lot of the Letcher County Health Department -- where she works as an RN.

The health department is notably located next to a moonshine distillery, where the baby raccoon and another little one got into the dumpster ... as you can see in pics provided by Combs.

She says she noticed a mama raccoon trying to get her babies out of the trash, to no avail ... which is why she went dumpster diving after the baby trash panda in the first place.

While one baby ra

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