"Sam" the river otter pulls through root canal

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Potawatomi Zoo has one happy river otter.

The poor thing actually needed some dental work.

So they took it out of the water and gave it a root canal.

It was actually a critical issue for Sam because the pain could've kept him from eating.

On Tuesday, the otter was back among the other otters, swimming around the exhibit that just opened last year.