NEW MARYLAND, N.B. -- Ron Morais takes his McDonald's coffee black: no cream, no milk.
And certainly no mouse.
The New Brunswick man is looking for answers from the fast-food giant after saying he found a dead rodent at the bottom of his McDonald's coffee.
Morais, who lives in New Maryland, said he ordered the medium black coffee Monday from a McDonald's in nearby Fredericton on his way to work.
The 57-year-old said he didn't notice anything unusual until he popped the lid off to enjoy the last few sips.
"It was disbelief," he said. "And then, 'Oh my god! There's a mouse in my cup!"'
Morais said the small mouse was wedged in the bottom of the cup with what appeared to be rodent feces. He said it was too tiny to notice the extra weight, but there was no doubt about what it was.
"Tail, whiskers, sort of dark grey or almost brown," he said. "The way it was situated in the coffee cup, the nose was squished up against one side and its butt against the other. So it was almost like it was stuck to the bottom of the cup because it wasn't moving around. It wasn't rolling back and forth in the cup."
He said one co-worker peered inside the cup and thought Morais was pulling an early Halloween prank with a fake mouse. Another colleague turned green, he said.
"When she looked she almost woofed her cookies," he said. "I felt a little queasy myself."
McDonald's Canada said it takes allegations involving cleanliness and sanitation seriously and that upon learning of the situation, the local franchisee immediately began an investigation, including working with the local public health authority.
Both the health authority and an independent inspection by a pest control company found no evidence of pest problems in or outside the restaurant, McDonald's Canada said.
"We are continuing to investigate this isolated incident and have reached out to the customer to obtain the product sample," McDonald's Canada said in a statement.
"Until such time as we are able to collect all the necessary facts and laboratory results to conclude a full review, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further. Similarly, we would also caution against jumping to conclusions until more details are available."
Morais, who said he has a "cast-iron stomach," said he went to the hospital on the advice of his boss to get checked out, but was sent home and told to come back if he felt sick.
He said the cup and mouse were kept in a freezer at his home until being picked up by a representative from McDonald's.
Morais said he doesn't want anything from McDonald's besides an explanation. He's had no ill effects from drinking the coffee, except for losing his appetite for a fast-food caffeine fix.
"I have not had any coffee since that I haven't made myself."
