When I was in the 5th grade, my dog was sprayed by a skunk. The next morning, on my way to the bus stop, I petted my dog for several minutes. As I was getting on the bus, one of my neighbors commented about a pungent skunk smell. I explained that my dog had been sprayed the night before, not realizing the smell was emanating from my clothes.

When class started that morning, my teacher stopped her lesson, asking, “where is that smell coming from?” Terrified, I sunk in my seat, hoping that she was not talking about me. Eventually, after walking around the room sniffing, she singled me out. She sent me to the nurse, demanding that I come back with new clothes. I cried and became known as “skunk boy” for the rest of the year.

I have two skunk stories. Two years ago, I was driving in North Charlestown, NH around midnight and i slowed down to watch a HUGE WHITE skunk with a narrow black stripe down its back shuffle off the road and into the bushes on the side. I’m not sure whether it looked larger than normal because it was bright white in the headlights or whether it was a really fluffy and large skunk. The second story just happened two weeks ago near my home in Oakland, CA. I was driving on rural Redwood Rd and I drove around a sharp curve and surprised a young buck and a skunk having a tete-a-tete, or actually a nose-to-nose! They both immediately turned and bolted / shuffled off in opposite directions. They sure did look like they had been caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing! Very strange…

I had not been going to get another skunk, when I received an email from a lady who had returned a male kit to the breeder in exchange for his sister. She couldn’t have both, but desperatly wanted him to get a home, and quickly. After some debate, I made arrangements to go and get him. As I went to pick him up he grunted and rrrrred and stomped. This is his way, to this day. You go to pick him up and he sounds like he is going to tear you apart. Once in your arms, he grabs two paws of shirt smacks his lips three times yawns and promptly goes to sleep. All bluster !!! His name is Badger. Cindy

I’ve been to SkunkHaven a few times and that was where I met my first skunk face-to-face — they are so cute!! I love the way they grunt and wiggle when they walk. Skunks are very precious citizens of Nature.

Deb and Kevin of Skunk Haven and their reps (nationwide) and friends are extra-special people, who know alot about skunks and take great care of them.

Skunks have awesome, unique personalities, and extra special attitude. I wish I lived in a Skunks-Allowed state so I could have one or two as pets!!

I also wish more people would understand and respect skunks instead of fearing or hating them.

I’m a wild skunk rehabber in Los Angeles, California. I generally wear dirty, baggy sweats, my hair in a pony tail and no makeup when I’m working with the wild animals I care for. One day I had a date coming over so I put on a little dress, did my hair, makeup, jewelry and perfume. I thought I’d give the baby skunks a snack before my date came over. I had their cages at eye level. I approached the cage with their snacks but they didn’t recognize me all cleaned up so they sprayed me in the face, 15 minutes before my date was due. I instantly soaked my face in skunk-off and changed my dress. The doorbell rang and I went to greet my date. He said he could smell the skunks from the sidewalk. He came in and we had a lovely evening in spite of the face full of spray. Over 40, not in the best shape of my life, skunk spray on my face but I still got it! Skunk photos and videos http://www.animaladvocates.us

I would like to commend Deb Cipriani of Skunk Haven (www.skunkhaven.net). Without her help, many domestic skunk owners would be up a creek without a paddle! She has dedicated her life and her home to domestic and wild skunks and their care. Anyone who is owned by a domestic skunk should refer to her web-site!

Early one morning as a kid while I prepared to head out on my paper route, a skunk came ambling by, blinded by a Nesquick can stuck on its head. I stayed quiet and just watched it keep walking down the street, banging the can as it zigzagged along. Thirty years later, I have often wondered if that skunk ever got the can off his head?

As kids growing up in Oregon in the early 60’s, we all had animals that we adopted from the wild (and had permits to keep them from the state). My animal of choice was the skunk. We had several over the years, all allowed in the house except at night. They really bonded to people and were constant companions as soon as you came in the door after school. One of my guys would herd me to a favorite chair and pester me until I picked him up, at which time he would promptly climb up the chair, over me and up to the top of the chair to form a heated, fuzzy neck warmer. We never had bites or the least indication of aggressiveness. Pet skunks are not permitted in Washington state – a very sad situation indeed. I hope one day the rabies paranoid will pass and more people will enjoy this magnificent loving creature.

There is a special place in my heart for wildlife rehabilitators who raise and release orphaned skunks. I have never turned them away and am the proud surrogate mother of hundreds, all now thankfully released back into the wild. Early on in my career as a wildlife care specialist, I learned that skunk spray, in the eyes, will ruin your day completely. It was then that my contact lenses were discarded and I have chosen to wear my glasses to prevent that pain from happening again. They are certainly a challenge, but I have learned the ropes to avoid spraying in captivity, but you also learn to cope with the odor while working after your stinker charges have resolved a disagreement.
We love our skunks at Wild Heart Ranch, and are strong advocates for this amazing example of evolution. An animal who carries it’s own weapon should be more respected! We are grateful to PBS for bringing them to the forefront, and I would also like to send kudos out to one of my favorite Wildlife heroes, Ned Bruha, “The Skunk Whisperer” for his ground breaking nuisance removal methods that allow these displaced skunks as well as the rest of our wild friends, to go about their way after he has intervened.
Annette

http://www.wildheartranch.org

I got my first skunk from a breeder an thought I was feeding her just fine , to find out at 1 year old she had a lot of trouble walking, then in a short while couldn’t walk. I searched for help, that’s when I found Deb at Skunk Haven. My vet said the skunk had very low calcium (Her bones were breaking) Deb told me what to feed her and what to watch for, And of all be patient. In aprox 6-7 months she was walking again and healing, bone density was back. She was 9 years old when she died. Since then she has helped me with my 2 new Skunks, whom are doing great thanks to her

::::THANK YOU:::: DEB

I got a call about a paralyzed skunk in Silver Lake. This skunk was dragging his legs and couldn’t control his anal glands. I brought him home and he was still leaking spray on himself. Skunks don’t like getting spray on themselves. A veterinarian friend of mine suggested that I express his anal glands until he can control his glands. I believe I am probably the first, and last person to express a skunk’s anal glands. The spray never became aerosol but my eyes, nose, lips still burned. My mouth tasted like metal. Everything smelled like a bar with beer soaked carpeting for two weeks. If anyone needs to do this, use googles, nose clip and a nose/mouth mask while mouth breathing only. The skunk regained the ability to walk in two weeks, was finally releasable after two months. He was the sweetest little guy.

Sage, a smoke chip, and Bu, a mahogany live in our home with four cats. Yes, skunks come in many different colors and yes, they make wonderful cuddlers. Some require more attention than others. They are not a cat or dog and require a varied diet and a vet who understands their differences. Sage is my little “Skoon” as he is nicknamed for his climbing ability of a raccoon. Many will say skunks don’t climb…I have baby locks on all my cabinets, refrigerator and areas he needs not to be in. Keeping ahead of what he’s thinking is a full time job. And yes, there are even skunk shows. Feel free to email me for some really funny pictures from our last show in Daytona Beach, Florida or if the thought of having a skunk as a pet in Florida is on your mind. LynndaB@att.net President, Skunks As Pets, Inc. Florida

I am so glad that this show is airing to enlighten people on the wonderful skunks. Three own me, one bought and 2 recues. I will not have a home anymore without these little cuddlebugs in my life.

I got my first skunk in 2000, she was an orphaned 2 week old. She taught me so many different things about what I thought I knew, and found out I didn’t. One of my favorite stories, and I have so many, but this one, I was allowed to take her to work with me, I had to feed her every two hours for awhile, anyway, after she opened her eyes and could follow me, she never left my side, or should I say my heels. It was awesome, but the best part is that at the time I worked in a facility for the aged. They all fell in love with her too. For the next 6 years she was a part of the facility and everybody there. She was a great teacher to all who got to know her. I can’t imagine my life without my skunks. She’s gone now, but I have 4 who I am blessed to have in my life. I will always have skunks.

I was born and raised on the farm, so skunks have never been a stranger to me. I always thought they were such pretty critters. Yes, they could fill the air with quite an aroma, but I knew that was the only defense they had. My dad only shot one skunk ever, and it was visibly sick. He always said that the skunks took care of a lot of the rodents who did damage in the corn crib. It wasn’t until I was very much an adult (a grama!) that I began my wonderful journey into the Skunk World. I have been owned by two who are now at The Bridge. Presently, my nine month old Sammi shares my home, bed, and, and like my two who are now angels, has a huge chunk of my heart. She was born in Iowa … shipped to Florida to a pet store … didn’t sell … was rescued … thru others in the Skunk World, traveled from Florida back to Iowa to her forever home. She has traveled a LOT more than I have! Be a skunk … travel to sooth a heart! :-)

I’m an animal love of all kinds. I’m in my 30’s and have had animal family members all of my life. I have had as small as a hamster, to as big as a 12′ long alligator, and everything in between. I got my skunk Lacie from a breeder in 2008. I love her to death. She is the best pet I have every had. She has changed my life for the better. By watching and learning from her, I have adopted her claim way of life. I am going to get another one but it will be a rescued one from Deb Cipriani at Skunkhaven. They are wonderful animals (skunks that is)!!!!!

You know, I wish the person who had seen that skunk with a Nesquick can on its head had at least called the local animal shelter or wildlife rescue league. That skunk could have died with that can on his head. Also certain yogurt containers (Yoplait was mentioned in some cases) have a nasty habit of getting stuck on the heads of all wild critters who stick their heads into the container to get the last lick of yogurt. They CANNOT pull their heads out of those containers. These animals will suffocate becuz it is VERY hard for the animals to get that container off their heads. Have a heart — report any animal you see in distress and if you see ANY containers carelessly tossed on the street or the side of the road or at campsites — PLEASE put them in the proper receptacle– you may be saving many animals’ lives that way!

My dad used to tell this story about meeting a skunk on his way down to the river on narrow path with his fishing pole in his hand. The trail cut down over the bank through thick salmon berries and ferns when suddenly he came face to face with a skunk coming up from the river. The skunk did a back flip and let go, then disappeared. My father was left standing there sprayed from top to bottom.

We have a Skunk who was found wandering around London Airport(Skunks are not native to the UK). On investigation it appears that during the night he climbed aboard a cargo plane in Toronto when the door had been left open, and hitched a lift to London.
We call him Stinky, and although a wild Skunk he never fires off and allows himself to be gently stroked. Skunks are amazing animals that seem to have a natural affection for humans.

I am owned by four domestic skunks, one black and white classic (like you’d see in the woods), one albino..yep, pink eyes, nose, toes, one smoke marble and one smoke swirl..both of which are gray and white with different “patterns”. The last three I walk on a leash. The black and white just walks with me all over town, no leash. Some of the looks we get from people are priceless!

My mom is #40 — I just wanted to say that not only is she an awesome mom and a great person, she is also a rep for Skunk Haven (PA). They do a lot of really good work educating people about skunks and taking care of ones that nobody wants. All 3 of my mom’s fur kids right now are rescues from people who couldn’t take care of them. Mom also is editor of The Skunk News, which is a really cool newstetter Skunk Haven puts out for its members.

On a recent trip to Tennessee from Norfolk,Virginia we were “skunked” 19 times from the venting system in our truck. My husband had warned me that the scenery is beautiful but it might not smell so good once we hit the border of Tennessee. Sure enough as we passed Bristol,there came the smell all the way to our final stop in Knoxville. What an experience!!!!t

I was walking from my house towards my garage when I noticed a large skunk, pulling over and over at something that was hidden from view. I walked closer and saw that a mother skunk was trying to pull her five baby skunks out of our soccer net. Each kitten-sized baby skunk was caught, hanging from the net,wiggling and softly crying. I ran to my house and grabbed my husband’s favorite rain coat, goggles, gloves and scissors. As I was running back through the yard, I heard my husband calling, “not in my coat!” I carefully freed each skunk while the mother watched. I then left to attend a play at Wellesley College. Sitting in the audience, I heard the person in front of me whisper, “WHAT is that smell?!”

This happened tonight… I had the front door open because it was hot in the house and a skunk walked in the door. It looked around and then walked out. I slammed the door shut in a panic. I’ve seen it before. I think that it lives under my porch.

I found skunks made wonderful pets. During the last 10 years I had 4 females and they were raise with my cat. They were very loving animals who cuddle with me every chance they got. Now that they have passed I will miss them very much. They brought joy and happiness and I made a lot of friends around the country who have own or have skunks as pets.

As a wildlife rehabilitator in Los Angeles for 18 years, boy do I have stories that could keep you entertained for a whole day! I have some of the stories on my SKUNKS Scentral web site http://www.StinkyBusiness.org as well as helpful ideas on how to peacefully coexist with this creature and the benefits of doing so. I’ve had to deal with every situation imaginable that I’ve come to know how they think, what every twitch means, that I’ve written many books and articles on them http://www.ScratchnSniffPublishing.com, as well as how to rehabilitate them. The next book is The Skunk Whisperer which will amuse you with stories from beginning to end.

I guess my most amusing story is when an elderly lady called me to remove a family of skunks from under her house. I caught the mom first, then half the babies. The woman watched how I caught them without being sprayed, so called me the next morning to tell me that SHE had caught the rest of them. I was ready to release them when a TV production company let me know that they wanted to film the release and other work that I do. Ok, this was the first time that I had a ‘family’ of skunks and was wondering how I could clean the cage without being sprayed. To make a long story short, I carefully took out one baby at a time to wash them but mom’s tail slowly slid out from under all the babies as I took the first one. I talked with her explaining what I was going to do. As I returned the first clean baby, she pulled him to her as I took the second baby. As I returned the second baby – all sweet smelling and clean – she pulled him to her and ACTUALLY started pushing the dirty babies towards me so I’d wash them too!! They are truly the most entertaining creature I’ve ever worked with!

I am the proud mom to two domestic skunks who had a less than pleasant beginning. The one I want to discuss is Raphael. He was returned after several months of poor diet and abuse and I received him by way of his original breeder. Unfortunately, Raphael had been give raw chicken with bone-in that is supposed to be safe. Unfortunately, that was not the case. For 6 weeks Ralphie daily had bloody prolapsed [his colon being pushed out of his rectum] and I was nearly to the point of having his colon and intestines sewn in to inhibit this painful happening. I had tried every dietary change, etc etc, Finally Cody and Arnold Hildabrand, of the Wild Brother Skunk Research group, suggested as a last resort to give him high fiber foods… had tried low fiber, etc etc. The night after his first day on this diet, while I was helping him pull the prolapse back inside I felt something sharp. I did not want to try to extract it in case I might tear his colon or intestines. The following day a sharp shard of chicken leg bone came out and since that day Raphael has not had a single prolape. The reason I want to share this is that when there is pleasant outdoor weather, often unaware picnickers and campers toss chicken bones or other food remnants into the wild so the animals can enjoy. Unfortuanately, as seen in Ralphie’s case, instead such well meaning actions can result in much pain and suffering and possibly even death of our wild friends. For this reason, I am asking that as picnickers and campers we carry out the remains of our foods to protect those beautiful wild creatures we enjoy seeing so much. It is the truly kind thing to do. Thank you for reading this.

My family and I went to a campground in Virginia called Beth Page. At sundown every night the skunks came right through the grounds. They walked right down the middle of the campground and mingled with the humans. Without getting to close they looked for what ever they could get and moved on. You could always tell when they were there because they brought their very noticeable calling card with them. If you are ever at this campground, hang around the main road near the playground and you will very likely see and smell them.

During a hot, droughty summer in central Texas, I found a mother skunk and her babies in our swimming pool. We never knew when they would show up and take over the pool so we couldn’t swim.

When I lived in a small farming community in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, I discovered that the local skunks had been helping themselves to the cat food left on my back deck. so I placed the food dishes up on the picnic table, out of skunk reach. The next day I was sitting on my lawn swing enjoying the view of my lush vegetable garden, when a young skunk waddled past. He stopped, gave me the stink eye, and squeezed through a hole in the garden fence. The next day three rows of young vegetables were dug up, not eaten, just neatly layed out for my inspection. Taking the cue from the skunk mafia, I replaced the food dishes back on the deck, happy to share my largesse with the little gangsters.

My sister’s dog looooves skunks. He thinks they taste great, so it isn’t suprising that he gets sprayed once every spring. One year he managed to get sprayed twice in one night! The first time on his way up to the house; the second on the way to the arena where he was spending the night. How did he smell the next day? WHOOOOO! Although I discovered that if you use baking soda and peroxide it helps. Also the chlorine removing shampoos work well too. (it helps if the dog has short fur)
The next summer a skunk tried to make its’ home in the crawl space under the house. One day the house smelled fine, the next WOW! it smelled terrible. You could taste it! Nothing like a heat wave and skunk! Despite airing out the house and fans in the crawl spaces there are times when I still smell the skunk.

I lived in a small New York state town for a few years and noticed the skunks. I noticed them, in fact, every night at 6:00 when the volunteer fire department would set off their alarms. Evidently, the alarm would startle the skunks. So every single night the town would fill with that special skunk smell. I blamed the firemen.

We live in Connecticut and it was my teenage son’s job to walk our Old English Sheepdog every night before bed. He had the smelliest sneakers ever and one night as they returned from their walk, my son, who was 13 and afraid of skunks, was being followed by a mother skunk and 4 little ones. My son and his dog were running by the time they reached the driveway and the skunks were running too! They made it into the house and the skunks soon disappeared.

We had a skunk for eight years.her name was Hepzibah.I named her after Miss Mamzell Hepzibah from the Pogo comics strip from years ago. Then I took a course in Hebrew and learned her name meant,”my delight is in her” and so it was.She was the most delightful creature a person could know.Each night at the same time she would do her dance up and down the hall,stamping and twirling.She slept with us all winter long in our bed and sometimes when I would fall asleep while watching TV she would climb along my body,stand on my shoulder and snort in my ear to wake me up.When she died we drove around listening to Tabla Rasa by Arvo Part,the saddest music for the saddest day.

I am a veterinarian and nature lover in Ontario, Canada. One of my clients took in an orphaned wild male skunk kit as a pet, although I kind of recommended against it. She had him descented (by another vet, because I wouldn’t do it), and I would vaccinate him against rabies each year. Fortunately, he remained gentle all his life. He was so cute. When I visited my client’s house to vaccinate him, he would walk around the room stomping and showing his annoyance with me, then would “spray” us.
I once saw a skunk strolling along a sidewalk in downtown Montreal. Another time, a juvenile sauntered past me in Long Point, on Lake Erie. Of course, my main experiences with skunks has been dealing with the dogs and occasional cats who have been sprayed. And it REALLY stinks!!

When I was a little girl in northern Indiana (50 miles north of Ft Wayne), my wiser 2 years older sister held the paper sack while I shooshed a young skunk into it, getting sprayed in the process. We proudly took our prize catch home to present to our mom in the kitchen. She quickly sent us outside where we released the critter. Ever since that time almost 50 years ago, I have had a bond with skunks and their scent which most people find repulsive!

I live out in the country and two summers ago, my husband and I had a skunk living under one of our outbuildings. The only thing that was sprayed all summer long was a corner of our house next to the dog yard. I think the skunk was startled by the dogs the first time it came around that corner, but once it knew they were there, it never sprayed again. I saw it several times when I would take one of my dogs out at night and it never even gave us a second look. My husband was terrified that we would be sprayed, but I enjoyed having the skunk as a neighbor. That fall it moved on and we haven’t had a resident skunk since.

In the mid 1960’s my family used to go tent camping by Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The campground was an open field and skunks would occasionally walk down through it at night from the woods, en route to the lake. Once we woke up and saw a bulge moving slowly under the canvas tent floor, out, and on toward the lake. Since we had no food in there, I don’t know why the skunk decided to go under, not around our tent!

I live in the country and care for a number of feral/semi-feral cats. Some of the them live in my garage, so I leave the door open a few inches so that they can get in and out. I came home from work one day and noticed an odd odor. I discovered a small skunk sleeping in a cat bed. The odor wasn’t that of a skunk that had sprayed, it just was a gamey odor. I could not get the skunk to leave the bed. It just stayed there staring at me. It stayed all night and through the next day before I was able to get it out the following evening by placing food outside the garage door. I think that it was sick as it seemed to have some trouble walking, dragging it’s rear legs. Obviously, I was concerned about rabies or some other neurological problem. After it left the garage, I closed the doors and did not see it again. I regularly see other skunks, but not the one that was in the garage. I threw the cat bed out. I enjoy watching the skunks in my yard, but the garage was a bit too close for my liking.

I loved watching your show tonight! I live near a patch of woods in upstate NY and this past summer I had five adult skunks come down into the little yard outside my window each night. They were eating the leftover bird seed and nuts that I throw out for the birds and squirrels every day. I am disabled and sit by my window with my camera all the time. I have photos and video of the skunks. One was my favorite. I would open the window and talk to it and it would come right over and get a walnut from me. It would stand up on it’s hind legs and beg. I haven’t seen any since winter started. But I look forward to seeing them again in the spring.

After a hard day of yard work (weed-whacking)I took a break for resting my over worked body and some dinner. As the darkness of the evening was well along and I needed to finish my yard clean up,I proceeded to haul out the few bags of yard refuse, out to the recycle bins. As I walked between the garage and fence of my yard, in total darkness I spotted what seemed to be a 2-3 ft.weed waving in the night’s gentle breeze, approximatley 10 ft.away. I first questioned my yard work skills,as to how in the world could I have possibly missed this weed with my trusty ole weedeater, in the full light of the day. As I stepped closer, still heading toward the alley, the supposed weed seemed to move back away from me ,backing into the corner of my wood pile. I stopped suddenly and paused, letting my eyes adjust more to the darkness, for I had entered into an area of my yard where the sensor lights don’t reach. Yes there before me stood Mr./Ms. Skunk waving his/her fluffed tail at me (the so called, tall weed blowing in the wind…..WAS NOT!!!) Without hesitation I did a 180, tripping over one of the lawn bags I was toting, falling flat on my face. Then I looked over my shoulder to see what the walking (stink weed’s) move was gonna be, now that I was at his/her level and mercy. I squinted in the darkness only to see the little polecat waddling away, in the opposite direction. Getting up and brushing myself off, I had a good chuckle to myself over what had just transpired. Living in close proximity to woods and a city park area, I’ve grown accustomed to plenty of visits from many of the furry creatures of whom share my neighborhood (racccoons,possum,feral cats and even deer) very rarely do I get to see skunk. That is why I thought I saw a bush in the night breeze and not Pepe Le Pew. Telling my Dad of this incident, he mentioned that he had once heard that it pains a skunk to emit it’s spray, so they tend to hold back their spritz unless it’s absolutely necessary for them to do so. Seeing the Nature program and the close up of how the tubes come out of the anal area of the skunk, gave a little credence to the old wive’s tale my Dad had passed on to me. This was about as close for me as I ever want to get to having to take a tomato juice bath.

Just before dusk as my daughter and I were leaving a state park we saw a mother skunk and her four babies walking close to the road. They were close enough for my daughter to get a good photograph of them, so I stopped the car. Having had a few close calls with skunks and being sprayec each time, I warned my daughter not to roll the window down but to shoot through the glass just in case. I also started to flash my lights to warn the oncoming cars. I didn’t want anything to harm that skunk family. The first car slowed down as it passed the mom and babies. The second car was close behind and was going very slow too. The mom skunk continued walking close to the road, but when the second car was passing her, she ran over to it and sprayed it then rand down to her babies and was gone. So much for skunks not protecting themselves (and their family) from moving cars.

I was camping out in Hells Canyon and we had just turned in for bed. I heard someone down by the kitchen shooing away what I could only guess were skunks. I always sleep on my stomach with my elbows out to the side, and my elbows were not in my sleeping bag. As I started drifting to sleep I felt a light nibbling on my right elbow. I probably stirred a bit and then jerked my head up to see a little skunk bottom waddling away. Thankfully, I didn’t get sprayed! I found out the next morning that my friend had shooed away about 6 skunks in the kitchen that night.

My dachshund rudy should be writing this…Our folly lasts for YEARS>…We live in San Diego, CA and at the edge of a canyon. Once the smell was so strong that i called the Fire department, because I thought that wires were burning. the fire department did not charge me because they said…”we do this all of the time”. During the past calendar year.. my beloved doxie…rudy has been the recipient of 4 direct hits…Everything…for months, including the humans in the house reeked…In fact, the scent seems to resurrect itself each time Rudy is wet!
Since doxies must sleep in the bed…( a dachshund rule). We live with the waning scent constantly. The only thing to ameliorate the scent is a
the concoction as follows : just as the show just said…peroxide/baking soda and dishwashing soap.. My dog is a REPEAT offender. good luck-all

My husband and I enjoyed your show tonight. I would like to share a personal skunk tale, which happened Friday, Jan. 2, 1998.
We’d had guests for dinner on New Year’s Day and put the garbage out beside the deck before bedtime. By the way, we live in a rural area north of Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada. I got up to go to work, letting my two little dogs, Mitzi and Casey, out for their morning constitutional. When I called them to come in a short while later they did not respond so I began to walk around the house wearing only my housecoat and slippers, (it was unusually balmy for that time of year), calling for them. As I got closer to the garbage bag I’d put outside the night before I noticed several holes in it. At first I thought my newly adopted Pomeranian, Casey, had gotten into it. My theory was blown very quickly when a full grown skunk wriggled out of the bag and came straight for me. I ran screaming to the front door leading onto the deck , which was still locked. The skunk kept coming for me and I kept running and screaming when suddenly Mitzi and Casey ran up to the deck. The skunk promptly turned and attacked Mitzi, who began to scream in pain. I took a quick assessment of the situation, deciding to save my “baby”, bent over, grabbed that skunk around the neck and squeezed until the skunk let go. With the skunk hanging from my hands by the neck I carried it around to the back door at which point my husband, Don, opened it. I begged him to do something; he was too shocked to be able to figure out what to do so he recommended I throw it away. I said I couldn’t because it would again either attack me or the dogs who were still outside. Shortly after they came round the corner again and Don let them into the house and closed the door. I then used up every bit of strength I had left and threw it away. It was not dead and later proceeded to attack both Don and our lab, Sheba, who carried the skunk by the neck until Don convinced her to drop it and come into the shed. Long story, short, we all needed rabies shots, our dogs got shots and were quarantined. The skunk was ultimately shot by the Game Warden. It tested positive for rabies.
Later that day at work, I received a dozen red roses with a note from Don which said, “To the bravest woman I know”. What I have to do to get roses!!

THE INVISIBLE RAIDERS vs. LAWN MAN

By Dennis Rathbourn

Comedian Tim Allen once said that men were only good for two things: auto repairs and lawn maintenance. Or at least I think that’s what he said. It could have been hauling luggage and lawn maintenance but one thing’s for sure: lawn maintenance was one of them. I’m not unlike millions of other men out there in that I love my lawn; in fact I worship it. But lately, something is ripping it apart during the night. I call them The Invisible Raiders.
They are invisible because I never see them, or it. I don’t hear them, or it, either. It all started a few years ago in the fall. Every year in late September or early October, after the summer lawn has faded and dried out, I reseed the lawn with a new seed mix composed of rye grass and fescue. It takes a few weeks of heavy watering and the usual warm Santa Ana winds we get here in Southern California to germinate those seeds. Then, the miracle takes place and my new green lawn comes up like gangbusters. It looks so good, I find myself just staring at it every morning over a cup of coffee and my one-a-day cigarette.
One morning last year I awoke, got out of bed, put on my slippers, went over to the window and raised the pull down shade, and… Holy Crap, my lawn was destroyed! Big chunks of it pulled out of mother earth and strewn about the backyard; my new lawn had been ruined by Godzilla. I opened the sliding glass door and ran out to our deck, down the steps to the patio, and out to the edge of what was a perfect lawn. I began to cry. It was like losing a child. And yet, there was hope.
The invisible raider hadn’t ruined the whole lawn, just parts of it. This called for an investigation. I ran back in the house and put on my bathrobe and my reading glasses. I was Sherlock Holmes. First order of business: find out where the invisible raider entered the yard. There are only two ways to get in my backyard, no, three. One entrance is from the garage, the other from the West side of the house and down the garden path; the third, of course, was from the house and out onto the deck and down the very steps that I had just traversed.
Second, examine the evidence. This was critical to my case. The monster had left a clue, but only when I examined the holes in the lawn did I find it. This monster liked to dig holes in the lawn but not just for the sake of digging. It was actually AFTER something in the ground. And the ground gave me my first clue. Being soft from so much watering, the impression of three toes or claws was visible in every hole. Some holes were deeper than others but to get to whatever the monster was seeking caused huge three and four inch clumps of my brand new lawn to be torn out and left nearby to die.
It sickened me. It also got mud all over my slippers and my wife was going to kill me if I got any of this on the living room carpet. I had to repair the damage immediately or my lawn would die. The monster had come in from the west side of the house and worked his way north. Thank God he only destroyed the north yard; the east side lawn was still intact. Must have got his fill of whatever he was digging for, I thought.
Later that morning over breakfast, I told my wife that I had come to the conclusion that this invisible raider must have four feet and three toes or claws. I wondered if it ate people, too.
“What do you think it is, honey?” I asked.
“Three toes, huh? It’s probably Amos next door. He walks on his knuckles, doesn’t he?”
“No”, I said, “it’s probably raccoons. Or big birds, they have three claws, too.”
Whatever it was, it liked to eat something underground. That’s it! The monster liked worms. Now all I had to do was erect a barricade to keep the monster out and think of some kind of deterrent to make it stay away. Ammonia works every time. I got an old towel, ammonia from underneath the sink, went out to the garage and grabbed my ladder. At dusk, I set up everything in anticipation of the monster’s return; placed the ladder at the narrow entryway on the west side of the house and soaked the towel with ammonia. Placing the towel so it faced the front entry to the backyard, I looked at my barricade with pride. No monster would dare sniff this stuff and still have the wherewithal to go any farther. My defenses were done. I went to bed that night knowing man had outsmarted the invaders.
Next morning, I got up, put on my slippers, the shade went up, and… Holy crap they struck again! This time they got to the east side lawn and just ripped it to shreds, clumps of newly grown grass all over the place. My God, these devils were merciless. Now what was I going to do? After repairing the east side lawn and shedding more tears, I was at my wits end. I went to bed that night feeling helpless. I had lost the battle. I could always just pour cement back there and make a giant barbecue out of it, put in a palapa and some tiki torches and re-create Puerto Vallarta.
But the next morning, they were gone. No new holes. No more digging, nothing. This last Spring, the lawn grew in and was gorgeous. It’s been twelve months now and everything is lovely. I forgot all about the invisible raiders. I repeated the same routine, planted new seed, watered them dutifully during the hot, windy Santa Ana days of October and November, then woke up one beautiful morning last month, raised the shade and… holy crap they’ve returned! You can imagine the horror that I felt. This was déjà vu all over again. I called my friends, I called the local nursery. I even called the SPCA. It wasn’t raccoons they said. It was (you’re not going to believe this) skunks. Yes, polecats. They eat grubs. They love grubs. They dig holes looking for them and eat them by the thousands every fall. Only way to keep them from tearing up my lawn was to put cayenne pepper everywhere.
So, that night, and ten dollars worth of cayenne pepper later, I put the orange colored stuff all over the place. It was a warm, fall evening, and in the middle of the night it came–skunk spray–that juice from the gland in their butt. Must have got a nose full of cayenne because he laid it on heavy and then left my wife and me to suffer all night with the windows closed and skunk stink in our nostrils. That did it. My wife said if I didn’t figure out how to keep the skunks out of the yard, she’d divorce me and move to Costa Rica.
Well, my wife didn’t move to Costa Rica although I think there are plenty of skunks there, too. I bought a ten pound bag of Bayer Advanced Grub Control ($32.99 retail) at the nursery that guarantees to kill grubs. Put in on heavy and watered it into the lawn big time. I also went on the Internet and found out that skunks are nocturnal (duh) and hate fluorescent light. Why didn’t I think of that before? So, I went to Home Depot, bought a light fixture, installed it above the barbecue on my deck railing and left the light on all night. And you know what? No more invisible raiders, no monsters, no skunks, nada (that’s Spanish for “nothing”). It’s December now and the little stinkers have not returned. My lawn is looking fabulous and I’m a happy boy. Now if I can only get rid of that crabgrass…

We have skunks on our property. We live in the country.
One day there were three baby skunks following each
other around in a circle in our yard. We could see them through the window. They did this for a long time
and they looked pretty comical. Supposedly
they could not see too well in the bright sunlight.
One night I went out when it was almost dark to feed
the barn cat and a skunk came tearing out of the barn
and sprayed me.It was really awful. I had a
very hard time getting rid of that smell. It was summer and I was wearing shorts and he just got my
legs and clothes not my face thank goodness but it
was an experience that made me want to stay in the house at night and feed the cat before dark.

I grew up in a rural area, and we had outdoor cats. One evening I was sitting outside playing with some of the cats when what I thought was a kitten crawled into my lap. I didn’t pay much attention until I realized that all the cats were backing away. I then noticed that the “kitten” was actually a young skunk! That’s when the mother skunk showed up. The tail was up, and she was stamping fiercely on the concrete porch. I took off like a shot, and made it into the house without getting sprayed. Some of the cats must have tried to attack the baby skunk after I made my escape, for the house reeked of that unmistakable odor for days.

(if the 1st one went thru, this is the) 2nd Great Lakes Skunk Tale – Lake Erie: We lived in a semi-rural community with a flood control pond and woods in our backyards. We shared the neighborhood with wildlife, peacefully, for the most part. Skunks were common, but their spray wasn’t, even though I often came across them in my yard at dusk. We often mistook them for cats, and sometimes our visitors would try to pet them, upon which I warned them about the “Stink Kitties.” One night, my 18-year-old son returned home from work as I was doing dishes. I saw him through the kitchen window as he casually walked up to the door, nothing unusual in his demeanor. So I was quite surprised just a second later as he shot his 6′2″ muscular frame through a barely-cracked door, slamming it shut behind him, his eyes wide as plates, face flushed and panicked. Then I smelled it, and said, “OHhhhh!” in realization, as my son moaned, “Did it get me? Did it get me?” No, it didn’t, but only because my son became the Incredible Shrinking Teen Flash moving at the speed of light the second he spotted a raised black & white tail next to the door steps. He said he often walked past that skunk previously on the way into the house, but it had always glanced at him then continued digging up insects, and this time it didn’t notice him until his hand was on the doorknob. You can bet that my son always made noise on his way up the walk after that, and wouldn’t go past a skunk until the skunk looked his way first.

Ilive in southern Oregon and have a little chicken farm which seems to bring in the skunks. One night I heard a noise and went out to investigate. There in my flower bed was the cutest baby skunks, I did not see the mother and with the little ones just standing there I picked them up and petted them. One was very freindly and the other probably a male had attitude. I got some cute pictures holding them. I than watched them amble off into the night. They returned several nights in a row with their mother and was fun to watch. They were about 3 weeks old and did puff… I could smell it on my cloths afterwards…. Loved the program on pbs….

3rd Skunk Tale – Lake Ontario: I had an errand to run on unlit country roads one very blustery autumn night. I kept mistaking blowing leaves and trash for animals running into the road, frequently braking on the way to my destination and again as I returned homeward. The leaves and trash were just bouncing so strangely that night, not blowing across the road, but bounding and leaping, like when headlights flash off an animal’s fur as it’s running in the road, and all you see is that shimmery little patch that’s reflecting the light. I felt like a Nervous Nellie, braking for blowing leaves, so I told myself to get a grip, if I saw another silvery shimmer bouncing along the road, it was just a leaf, not animal fur, so there’d be no need to brake. That turned out to be tragic for a young skunk, and I still feel terrible about it. The white stripe on his tail was bounding along the road, looking just like each blowing leaf did in that strong, blustery wind. Only too late was I able to make out his silhouette and the full stripe along his back. By then, he was full in my headlights and it was too late to brake. I was too cowardly to even go back to put him out of his misery if needed, because I knew I’d never get the smell out of my car if I approached him. If it were any other animal, I would have put on the hazard lights and pulled over. I didn’t have the heater running, so there was no chance of the scent getting dispersed into the car, although when I arrived home and got out, there was a distinct odor emanating from the undercarriage. That odor remained for weeks, through a few car washes, but never seeped to the interior. But that poor little skunk! I’m heartbroken that I made the fatal decision to assume every silvery shimmer on the road was no more than a blowing leaf.

1st encounter: I was asleep in bed and my husband had let the dog outside in the middle of the night. Well, when my husband let the dog back in I was awakened to an awful smell. I was wearing a mask for sleep apnea even. It didn’t smell skunk-like. My dog had gotten sprayed. He’s a Yorkie. I threw him in the tub and bathed him right away.

2nd experience: Since we had that experience above we’ve taken a flashlight out at night, holding the dog, looking to make sure the yard is clear. As I was walking towards the end of the yard and came around a bush there were 2 skunks looking right at me3-4 feet away. At first I was nervous but they didn’t seem that scared of me and just slowly scampered off. My dog didn’t bark and just watched. Normally my dog would be caring on!

We’ve had more than these encounters, but I’ll stop here. I have found that skunks are “cool”! I’m not as afraid as I used to be.

Thanks for the show about skunks. I learned things I didn’t know and truly enjoyed it.

Many years ago, 1972 to 1976, I used to buy milk from Claravale Guernsey Farm, at that time, a family owned raw milk dairy in Monte Sereno, a small community between Los Gatos and Saratoga, near San Jose, CA.

Mr. and Mrs. Peak were the owners, and they had an honor system. Customers picked up raw milk dairy products, and wrote down what they took. At the end of the month, you added up your milk total, and went to the farmhouse to pay your bill. Their milk, and cream were wonderful.

While paying my bill one day, I struck up a conversation with Mrs. Peak. While we were talking, I felt a cat rubbing against the back of my right leg and reached down to pet it. Mrs. Peak told me to remain very still, because ‘Alice’ had decided to visit and say hello to me.

I looked down and was somewhat startled to see that Alice was a skunk, and it was she who was rubbing against my leg. Alice looked up at me with sparkling eyes. It was as if she was smiling at me.

Mrs. Peak slipped a small dog biscuit out the screen door and gave it to me so I could give Alice a little treat. Alice gladly accepted the treat and trotted off to her burrow beneath the outhouse.

Mrs. Peak explained that the outhouse had been filled in many years ago, and due to the shady location, they used the structure to store and age cheese. A few years earlier, Alice decided to burrow under the old outhouse and make that one of her homes. She had her babies there, and Mrs. Peak said it was always a springtime joy to see two to six baby skunks. Alice never smelled, unless she had to spray something in self defense.

By the way, the real terror in the Peaks’ barnyard were a couple of Muscovy ducks that would chase nearly anyone and nip at the back of your legs.

Other than that, all the ducks, geese, chickens, cats, dogs, cows, and Alice the skunk, lived harmoniously on Mr. and Mrs. Peak’s farm.

The program about skunks was great. My wife and I enjoyed it very much.

Several years ago, we moved to Rural Tennessee from Chicago, bring with us our completely Metropolitan cat. Several days after our arrival we were sitting on our front porch enjoying the evening when this big black and white no-it-wasn’t-a-cat cat waddled through the yard.

“Oh, look!” said our cat. “A new playmate!” and, before we could stop her, charged off the porch and full face into the spray. I jumped off the porch and ran into the yard to rescue the cat who was in convulsions.

First lesson of skunks: never assume there is just one of them. In the dark, I litarally tripped over a second skunk who responded by letting me have it from waist to knees.

We had already established contact with a local vet, so my wife rushed in the house, called him, and then we climbed in her car and rushed the cat to his clinic.

He gave the cat a full workup, transfusion, sponge bath with some anti stink additive, drops for the eyes and then said she should be kept overnight for observation. “Wait a minute,” I said, standing there in reeking pants and throughly soaked shirt where I had been holding the cat, “what do I do about me?”

He waved his hand and said, “Oh, wash yourself down in tomato juice.”

So it is now 11:00 at night and I’m standing in the check out line at a local grocery store with six #10 cans of tomato juice. There is a teen age girl at the cash register very delicately wrinking her nose. She looks at me and says “do you smell skunk?”, which turned the entire evening into high comedy.

In retrospect, two lessons learned: first, if you make an emergency visit to the vet, ride in the back of an open pick up truck and not the front seat your wife’s prized car. The interior stank for four months. Second: the stupid feline never did learn that stripped cats are not going to be her friend. She had three more encounters with them before she finally died.

On the plus side, we now have a family of skunks living under our front porch (”hey, smell this place. They must really like skunks here.”) In general, we leave them alone and they leave us alone, but we put out food and water and they will come and eat while we sit about ten feet away.

My dad brought home a skunk when I was a little girl. Unfortunately we kept it in a cage outside and it was stolen. Many, many years later I told my husband I wanted a pet skunk. I have had my sweet Lily Rose for two years now. I don’t know what life would be like without her. I have the utmost admiration for all the wonderful people like Deb from Skunk Haven and the everyone here in Florida with Florida Skunk Rescue. The education they provide is very valuable. People need to know that skunks are not vicious rabid animals, that most of the time they will run from you rather than spray. I do feel though that more needs to be said about Aspen Skunk Rabies Research and the money they are trying to raise through donations and iGive.com to one day hopefully have a rabies vaccine for our babies and make it so they can be legal in all States. No more innocent skunks should die because they mistaken bite the hand that feeds them. Please visit the Aspen Skunk Rabies Reseach website and donate today. If every skunk owner donated at least $1 for each skunk they owned I’m sure we would on our way to having this important research take place.

This story happen in June, 2008 at dusk. My sister and I went on a walk about 7:30pm and we came up over a hill and saw a skunk running into the woods so we thought we would see what it was doing. Then we stoped at the edge of the woods and saw the skunk stop. Kellie sayed wonder what it is doing? Then we both had a flashlight and looked down and saw baby skunks there were about 4 little ones. One of the little ones came out then my sister said “Oh how cute” then she went to pet it. He turned aroud lift its tale and gased my sis. shoe. She ran of and said it sprayed me. I thought how come I can’t smell anything. Shortly after that I smelled it. So now that we see a skunk we will not follow it into the woods.

Have had as many as seven skunks around shop, but two only show now. I opened shop door three inches to let swamp cooler air escape while working in office at night. I was at desk and happened to see something move out of corner of my eye. It was a half grown skunk that had crawled under the door and was checking out the shop. I froze while it sniffed my boots and checked out the trash can and every thing in the office before wandering back out into the shop and out side. I was not scared of it, but didn’t want to scare it so it sprayed the office.
About the same time another one got in the shop and I didn’t know it when I went home. The next day when I opened the door this skunk went running out. It had tried to dig it’s way out through the steel wall in eight places during the night leaving a pile of fiberglass insulatation at each point. Now I plan to add vents to the building so they can’t get in.
I feed about thirty stray cats and the skunks come eat with them. Once they got used to seeing me feed the cats they don’t bother to raise the tail when when I pour out the food. Some times they are waiting when I come out the door and are close enough I could reach out and touch them. But I don’t try. My friends say I should shoot them, but I say live and let live. They are fun to watch. Sometimes the cats and skunks get in to it a little and get sprayed which comes into the shop through the swamp cooler. Makes it a little rough to work until it clears. I looked into having one as a pet, but New Mexico will take them and kill them. Apparently it’s quite complicated and no vets here will touch them. Plus they tear up a lot of stuff. I have enough cats at home and at the shop so the only skunk pets will be the wild ones that come to dinner. According to the web they eat tons of insects/ mice for farmers saving crop damage.
I didn’t realize until I was doing reasearch on the net that skunks were banned in almost all states and people breed skunks. I assume for fur,as I never heard of skunk burgers.
I feel they are badly misunderstood and have a bad reputation for fast on the trigger. But like everything else they are trying to survive in this ever crowded world.

I have had many encounters with the little darlings, they are very personable. Last fall, one was sleeping in the dog house. It woke up and stretched and yawned. As I talked to it, it started to rub on the side of the house like a cat would, then it came over to me and watched me talking to it. Finally it went back into the doghouse and curled up to go to sleep again. What a wonderful experience!

My dog got sprayed by a skunk once and instead of using tomato juice, there is a very simple remedy to neutralize the skunk smell. Mix 1 quart Hydrogen Peroxide, 1 teaspoon liquid shampoo, and 1/4 cup baking soda. I got my dog wet and applied the skunk smell remedy then rinsed him. Because the skunk smell oil is a thiol it did not dissolve the smell but only neutralized it.

I live in a rural area of New Mexico, between Espanola and Santa Fe, that is a favorite place for skunks. My first encounter was about 5 years ago when I was feeding a feral cat and her kittens. I realized by leaving the dry food out, I was also feeding a large skunk. Remedy was to remove the food. Next encounter was a year later when I acquired a puppy. Buddy was about 5 months old when he encountered his first skunk, which sprayed him and drove Buddy whimpering up the back steps. A smelly pup to be sure. He had numerous baths of vinegar before he was tolerable. Each year since, Buddy has had encounters with skunk in our yard. The outcome has been disasterous for Buddy and, unfortunately, fatal for the last two trespassers. I have found the skunk entrance to the yard and will be repairing to keep the curious skunks out and alive. We have been deterred on numerous walks due to encounters on the river road. The de-skunking formula of peroxide, baking soda, & liquid dish soap is the absolute best but rubber gloves are a must. Also, don’t wet your animal prior to applying the mixture; the oil in the musk breaks down better when the mixture is applied to a dry coat. It’s also a good idea to keep saline solution on hand if you have to rise your pets eyes. If your pet has been sprayed around its mouth or has killed the skunk, rinse as best as possible with water. I give my dog some fat free cottage cheese which helps settle his stomach. I think skunks are quite pretty but I prefer to watch from a distance. This may sound strange, but while watching your program Buddy looked up at the television, cocked his head as if he knew just what that black & white critter was and then looked over at me. I reminded him to “leave it!!”

When I was a little girl, we lived beside a vet and I played with their daughter. Someone had brought in a litter of baby skunks to have their stink glands removed. From that day, I had wanted a pet skunk, but settled for a kitten/cat. As an adult, I feed stray cats so I always have skunks, groundhogs, and opossums in our backyard. I do put out scraps of veggies for them. One day I was trying to go out my back door to feed the stray cat and I thought there was a cat in a brown bag we had on the porch. Cats like bags..right? I called “kitty” “kitty”..and saw the stripe on it’s back. Need less to say, I went back into the house. I learned that day skunks are not afraid of humans. Also, I have a bird feeder and I learned I had better bring in my clothes from the outside lines before dark or I’ll meet up with a skunk. They are beautiful little creatures and are welcome in my yard anytime.

While volunteering at a NY prison on a hot summer evening, I saw an amazing “Skunk Tale.” Approaching the Visitors’ Center, I saw, through the window, several Corrections Officers backing up with their hands raised. Fearing some kind of breakout, I peaked carefully through a corner of the window. Standing in the middle of the room, stomping and turning slowly with tail raised, was the biggest skunk I’ve ever seen. At least a dozen guards and visitors were plastered against the walls. Hurrying to the Security Gate, I told a C.O. — who knew “all about Charlie, the legendary skunk.” Armed with “Twinkies” we returned to the scene — Charlie was gently encouraged out the open door by tossed bits of goodies. The doors quickly closed to loud cheers and shouting! Charlie waddled off to eat from the picnic trash another day.

My family and I were just leaving for a camping trip to Maine. It was around 5:30 in the morning and we were on our way to meet my brother to convoy from NH to Moosehead lake.

We were about a 1/2 mile from home when I saw a skunk wandering aimlessly in the road, apparently arriving there from a recent garbage can meal. The skunk had a yogurt cup stuck on it’s head and could not see.

To my wife’s amazement, I stopped the car and started to get out. She said we are NOT riding 6 hours to Maine with you smelling like a skunk! But common sense lost out and I decided that I needed to save the skunk from being road kill. I stepped up to the skunk which had stopped when it heard me approach. I slowly reached down and grabbed the yogurt container and gave it a yank, the skunk looked straight into my eyes for about 2 seconds, then we both ran in opposite directions. All was good.

Mexican Standoff: My first tale is of ambling down a trail on horseback in Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. My horse heard a noise in the woods and stopped to listen. I followed his line of sight and discovered a skunk shuffling through the leaves and headed our way. We stayed very still while the little skunk, intent on keeping an appointment somewhere, emerged right in front of of us in the middle of the trail. He suddelnly realized that we were blocking his way, and stopped while we each tried to think of the best way out of the situation. After a minute, he made a detour around us through the woods and hurried on down the trail. I called back to some riders that he was coming and they stopped until he reached the point he was heading for and continued down a hill through the woods.
Tale #2: Years ago some friends of mine in Michigan bought and old farmhouse and began restoration. Unfortunately, some skunks moved in under the house, so the new homeowner decided to use a shotgun to scare them off. Not so good! The entire house was dosed from the scared skunks, and the couple’s wedding clothes were inside at the time. Not the cologne they were thinking of using, I am sure.
Tale #3: Some years back, my dog Sugar came in the house one day and went to sleep on the sofa. After a while I realized there was a horrible odor somehwere–it was so strong I did not at first realize that it was heavy duty skunk. Luckily, I found the same recipe given on the program in a homesteader’s magazine. IT WORKS! I have deskunked any number of dogs since. Our present dog Lucky got heavily sprayed the minute he arrived in Tennessee with my brother in law. I used this recipe and he slept in our room that very night fresh as a daisy.
Tale #4: I arrived with my daughter for an orthodontic appointment in the middle of a small city only to find the doors wide open and the entire office very fragrant with skunk. the receptionist told us that apparently a skunk was very close to the central A/C unit when it kicked on, scaring the poor critter and causing him to spray the air intake. Whew! Glad I didn’t have work there all day!

My husband and I loved watching the show! Over 20 years ago Lovie, our brown and white skunk was a wonderful pet. I got her when she was about 6 weeks old – just weaned. I took a week off from work to start to adapt her to being awake days and sleeping nights. I was called in to work and brought her with me – a little brown and white striped fuzz ball curled up in my smock pocket. The whole store crowded around when I took her out to show her off!
When she grew up. she had a “nest” in the bathroom but had the run of the house when we were home.
We put baby locks on all the cabinet doors because she was always looking for food. We couldn’t have a wastebasket or plant on the floor because she would empty them looking for grubs in the dirt of the plants and anything edible in the trash. Sound inconvenient? It was a small price to pay for the loveable, curious, fun pet that she was!
On the show, we recognized so many actions; the stomp, the scoot back, the roll and crunch of eating hornets and especially the familiar waddle.
We live in Massachusetts and can no longer leaglly own a skunk. Maybe we’ll retire to Ohio!

My brother and his wife have 4 cats and multiple self-feeders scattered throughout the house. They woke up one night to the sound of something eating from the feeder in the bedroom….. and it was not a kitty! They both wear glasses, so it was even more unnerving to hear strange crunching noises when you can’t see! Working up their courage, they flipped on the lights to reveal a full-grown skunk eating from their cat feeder. It nonchalantly looked over and proceeded to saunter to the only exit available at night – through the cat door into the garage….. at the other end of the house. It clearly knew exactly where to go! Now the cat door in the garage gets shut at night so there are no “new” kitties!!

I used to have a dog, her name was Bonita, now she has a home somewhere else with a loving owner.
My mom and step dad play ultimate Frisbee and one day we took our brown Labrador. Of course, I believe all dogs get into trouble eventually, but this story made anyone who listened to it laugh.
I was playing with one of my Best friends, Jenni. We were playing in sand on the side of the field. Somebody shouted to me since my step dad was in the bathroom and my mom was playing on the field. I looked up and saw that the person who shouted to me was Al, a fellow ultimate player. I got up and so did Jenni. Al told us that there was a skunk and my dog was off her leash. My dog was running straight for the skunk. I didn’t want to go too near the skunk because I hadn’t wanted to be sprayed. Jenni and I were calling for my dog after she disappeared into the trees. the skunk had run off somewhere, but still, I was sure it was in the area. Finally, after a while, Bonita showed up. I was about to pet her when a sharp, stinky smell rose up from her now sprayed pelt. My dog had been sprayed by a skunk. My mom had to run to the store and buy many cans of tomato juice. We bathed Bonita there at the fields. Obviously, she wasn’t going to get the smell completely off for at least two days. And a daily lesson for all is, if you have a curious dog, make sure it’s leash is stable. :)

I loved the PBS show on skunks & I have had 2 skunks as pets. Dante named after Dante Gabriel Rossetti (the artist) & Bertie or Albert, after King Edward VII. They both required bottle feeding & they bonded very easily at that point. They both loved being indoors and felt very protected inside. Dante, my first skunk, was very demanding of my attention & even insisted that he sleep in my bed! He could even crawl his way up to get into bed. They each lived approximately 6-1/2 years, which is a short life span. They preferred cat food over dog food & Dante’s favorite food was fresh broccoli & Bertie preferred it cooked. Both of these skunks I bought & licensed here in Mich. This farm has long since been out of business so I would have to go to Ohio if I wanted another one. Maybe one day I will get another skunk.

I lived in the Trinity mountains in Northern California for a year in 1997. I had 2 manx kittens so I left cat food and water by the back sliding glass door for them because they loved to explore outside at night. Soon I saw a skunk eating the food and watched her through the glass. Every night at 11 pm she came back so I sat there one night on the steps with the food in front of me and she came without hesitation and ate at my feet. She had never raised her tail to me so I kept doing it. Ome night at midnight there was a knocking at on the slidiing glass door and it was a big old Racoon looking in and it ws clear it was asking for food as well. I opened the door and it moved down the steps I came out and fed it. So skunk at 11 and racoon at midnight. Then the skunk stopped coming. I waited a few nights and was sad she was gone. About 2 months later skunk came back with her 6 babies. Seeing them was so delightful to me and I rushed out the door with food for them. One of the babies played with my manx and they became great friends. I tried to see if I could get them to spray me. They seemed so used to me I wondered if they would if I scared them. So one night when they came I jumped out of the door and threw the food in front of me,and they all just came and ate ate my feet again.

I didn’t believe what people had told me about them being wild and spray people if they got close. They had accepted me and it was fantastic to have all 7 each night for dinner. They stayed about 20 minutes each night. All of the babies had different personalities from calm and loving to feisty and playful. The mother skunk was girly and sweet. Soon the racoon began comong and knocking as soon as the skunks had left.

I had just moved to the mountains to recover from an illness so the skunks and racoon made my recovery pleasant. City people don’t believe my skunk story, my new wife didn’t beleive it until we watched the skunk show tonight.

Thank you PBS for proving that I wasn’t telling a made up story.

My husband was pulling a trailer of horses to a trainer and was driving on a remote gravel road. Just ahead he saw a line of black and white wobbling across the road. When he got closer, he realized it was a mother striped skunk attempting to herd her litter of babies (kits?) from one side to the other. She would succeed in getting four or five across when one of them skittered back to the side they had come from to be with those who remained ‘uncrossed.’ This went on for over twenty minutes. She finally got all of them herded across after much effort and patience. My husband was totally charmed by them. On another occasion, I was still in bed waiting for my first cup of coffee that my husband got up to make for both of us when I heard a string of expletives coming from him. He had let the cats in for their breakfast and with them was a young skunk who had decided he/she needed breakfast as well. With some encouragement from a lightly pushed broom, he managed to convince the skunk to wait outside for his/her feline friends. Evidently cats and skunks get along rather well.

I live in the city of Boston, and surprisingly we have an amazing variety of wildlife. We have had a skunk who owned the sidewalk. He would amble down it, making the rounds of the garbage cans. We have also had a mother with kits who would come up on the porch and beg cat food.

But the most amusing skunk story is the interaction between a skunk and a racoon on our back porch. The porch is next to the roof of our garage, and there are quite a few steps to the driveway. A skunk was dining on cat crunchies, and a racoon bound up the stairs & startled the skunk. The skunk became alarmed and began the tail-raise, and foot stamping & turning back and forth. I was watching from the screen door & thought “The only loser in this battle is me”. We have a squeeky screen door, so I opened it a crack, and the racoon leapt onto the railing & then to the garage roof. Instantly, the skunk calmed down and ambled, not ran, down the stairs as if nothing had happened. I’d love to have a pet skunk if it were permitted in my state.

When I was about 6 or 7 years old we lived in Palos Verdes Estates, CA and there was just a few homes scattered about and lots of farming fields etc. I was playing at the local Jr high school and was all alone when I spotted a mother skunk with 3 tiny babies running along the edge of the playing field. Well being the tomboy I was and a serious catcher of all types of animals, I gave chase because I was thinking I could catch one of those tiny babies? (OK it was a stupid idea but I was only 6 or 7 at the time!) Anyway they ran down the edge of the sidewalk with me rite on their heels and when they got to a storm drain they ducked inside. I got to the storm drain opening and laid down to look inside to see if the babies were in there and all I saw was 4 butts coming straight at my face! I got a quadruple whammy rite in the face with my eyes wide open and I will tell you that nothing in my life has ever compared to the pain, it was like getting sprayed in the eyes with acid, I was in so much pain I didnt even notice the smell.
Well all I could do was head home which was only a few blocks but I kept having to stop because I had times where the pain was so intense in my eyes I actually couldnt see for short periods. When I finaly got home I know better than to just go in the house so I rang the doorbell. To this day (I am in my 40’s now) my parents love to tell the story of how when they opened the front door all they could see was this green stink cloud that resembled their daughter standing on the front porch. My poor dad had the duty of bathing me to try to get rid of the smell and they burned my clothes. When I was asked why on earth I gave chase to SKUNKS, I replied that I didnt know that tiny babies could spray. Well I can attest first hand that even when they are just a few ounces in size, they pack a fully loaded gun!!

I was in a deep sleep one summer nite last year windows open, when I had a dream that I came upon a skunk den, when in fact I woke up and my whole room smelled of skunk. There were skunks in my neighbor yard spraying, needless to say I did not sleep in the room for the rest of the night and it took my Oreck air purifer 12 hrs. to rid my room and house of this odor. Skunk lovers come and keep all the skunks you want.

Last winter our cats shared their litter boxes and their beds in the basemant with a skunk. We never smelled (her) and there was never any fights with the cats. I surprized her one day at the cat food dish and all she did was look up and then continue eating. Never once was she aggressive. When spring came I live trapped her and returned her to the wild. I often wished I had kept her! I have her pictures to keep me warm. She had alot of white on her and was very large. When I let her go in the bush about 7 miles from our farm she hung around for a long time…I often wonder how she is doing! I have alot of respect for skunks and especially their capacity for love……I miss her!

15 or 20 years ago, a co-worker asked if I would help her out and chaperon with her son’s scout troop. We were at a scout camp in Idyllwild, CA. Another chaperon and I with several scouts settled into one of the cabins. Setting up our sleeping bags on the bunks, I choose a lower bunk near the door.
Sometime in the night I woke to what I thought was my cat walking across my legs. I kicked my leg to shoo my cat off. My eyes snapped open when I realized I wasn’t at home. I laid there for a few minutes, listening and trying to think what would be small and nocturnal. Couldn’t be a raccoon, too light, squirrels are diurnal. Having a supposition, I got my flashlight out and looked around. Sure enough, a few bunks away was a small skunk.
I got up, opened the door and proceeded to try to herd the little creature out with my flashlight. I heard a few of the boys whisper, “Skunk”. I shushed them and succeeded in getting the skunk out and closed the door. The other chaperon never woke up.
The next morning, the episode circulated around the camp faster that stink on the wind. The skunk must have been sleeping in an old wood stove in the cabin. It didn’t spray and the cabin didn’t have any odor to hint to the fact we were intruding on the little guy’s territory. We were known as the Skunks for the rest of the weekend.

my dad and mom was driveing at by the mall and then they saw a mom and babaies skunks and my dad got out of the car and picked up the babies to help them get across the street. the mom was already there.

I was a firefighter at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California in the early 90’s. We had just got back from an emergency on a warm summer night when we found a skunk in the garage where we park the fire trucks. The skunk went behind our coke machine and the Shift Captain told us to leave it alone and it will leave. Well, one of the guys decided to poke a stick at it behind the coke machine and it sprayed. The firehouse stunk for weeks that followed and it’s a story my young daughter enjoys to hear.

A few years back, I lived in Winfield, IL, about 30 miles west of Chicago. An area where nature preserves abound. We would get wildlife around from deer to coyote to oppossum to raccoon to…skunks. We had my dog and my sister’s dog…both Silky Terriers. My dog, Suki, is a natural hunter; if we got a field mouse inside, it was soon dead. She’s a great mouser!
However, one night she and Danni, my sister’s dog, were in the backyard and we heard this horrible barking, like a distress call. Danni, the smart one, came running up to the back door, whimpering. She had definitely been sprayed, though not badly. Suki, on the other hand, was barking nonstop. A skunk was on the other side of the chainlink fence, spraying Suki over and over, full force in the face. Suki had her nose through the fence, trying to get at the skunk, seemingly unmindful of the strong spray.
I had come prepared but almost threw up as I dropped a beach towel over my crazy dog. I held her at arm’s length and immediately put her in the bathtub and closed the door! I had two quarts of homemade tomato juice and as soon as I could take a deep enough breath to hold, I went back in the bathroom and poured both quarts on Suki. I rinsed her off, then bathed her…twice! She still smelled so she and Danni, who my daughter had already bathed, spent the night in the bathroom with the window open.
Early the next morning, I contacted the groomer at the nearest Petco store who told me I could use a feminine bath product to bathe her in. Then I brought Suki into the groomer who had a big bottle of de-skunk solution to bathe her in. I could still smell a bit of the skunk on her but she was allowed to live with the rest of us.
However, not thinking about the spray being on the grass, I let the dogs out into the backyard. Suki made a bee line for the sprayed area. I could have killed her! I called the groomer who laughed and told me to bring her back in. There was no charge for the additonal de-skunking but I had to buy a large bottle of the solution. I was happy to do so!
It was several weeks before the smell was completely gone from Suki’s head. Every time she got her head wet, we could smell the skunk; not as bad but still there!
We deduced that Suki definitely still had a wild side to her; she’s fearless. She’ll be 13 this year and still as adventurous as ever!

Remember spring is almost here and you will be smelling alot more skunk with mating season being around the corner. Sometimes the smell is a hint of where they maybe nesting so be kind when relocating a mom and think of kits she might leave behind.

Skunks are cute but smelly. when i was five I went into the woods and saw a”smelly cat” and I went up to it because I love cats. so it starts stamping its feet and I think awesome it wants to play so I come closer and than it lifts its tail. So i’m laughing having a good time than the skunk turns its back on me and I think its leaving so i get closer and notice its head turning into a “U” position. So here i am onthe floor looking straight at the skunk’s BUTT. Than the moment , the yellow,and extremely stinky fluid fly’s right directly into my nose and I scream, nearly blind i run directly into the skunk and it sprays me again this time in the eyes. so i waited there crying,blind,and extremely stinky for nearly two full hours.
Let me tell you the smell was there for about 6 months after numerous tomato baths! eeeeewwwwww!!!!

We were at a campground at Greer, AZ where a number of campers and skunks were peacefully coexisting by observing the rule “you don’t bother me and I won’t bother you.” After supper one evening my husband was visiting our camp neighbors and I was sitting in our tent on top of a sleeping bag. I thought about zipping up the tent flap but before I could do so, in stepped a skunk. Too late to try to scare it away, so I froze in place. It sniffed at a box of cooking pans, then started sniffing its way down the edge of the sleeping bag I was sitting on until it got to my hand. Its whiskers tickled, and I thought “Horrors, we’ll have to get rid of the sleeping bag – WE’LL HAVE TO GET RID OF ME!” But thank God nothing happened, and it sniffed its way down the other sleeping bag and out the tent door. The neighbors not only told us about tomato juice but also the danger of rabies, so I was very, very fortunate.

Once when I was about 10 or so my mom laid out crunchies right outside the front door for our black and white cat Boots. One evening I heard crunching through the front door and thought maybe the cat wanted in. So I opened it and seeing a dark figure about six inches from the step said “Oh hi Boots…” When I suddenly realized that this was NOT Boots I slammed the front door and hurried to tell my parents!

skunks are so stinky p.u Here’s another stinky story! Haha. One time I am walking in the woods similar to my other one this time at night! I see a whole family of small black and white critters so I go up to the baby , pull its tail and this really I mean reaaly pisses off the mother so The sphincters tighten and BAMMM!!!! a direct face load and the baby gets angry to so I fall and the baby claws me to the ground and I fall and about 6-7 others jump on me and I am screaming and this scares the babies! I feel a warm little buty touch my eye and I open it very quickly to receive a mist in my eyes and like a chain reaction it scares the other ones so I was sprayed about 8 times!!!!! The smell let me tell you was SO BAD I kept vommitting all night and the next day I went to the woods to try to get revenge instead I got SPRAYED again!!! So the smell was on for the rest of the year and I had to live in a deserted home for a week ! whenever my parents came over they would wear face masks! eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww! It stunk so bad i could barely breathe the smell was like 8 rotten eggs shoved up your nose poop thrown on your face, Burning rubber and the other grossest substances on the planet!

When I was about 3 years old I was outside with my twin sister and little brother, when I saw a huge skunk about 2 feet away near the bushes. They were walking right towards it. I tried to warn them, but I didn’t know what the animal was called. They both got sprayed and started crying. I didn’t get sprayed. My mom gave them tomato juice baths.

Hey all you that haven’t been sprayed i have a homemade way to make it feel like you have!
1. mix burnt rubber, rotten eggs,and all other smelly things in house.
2.pour this on yourself
3. get a bottle of shampoo and pour it in your eyes!

When i was five i went into the woods with 3 friends. we saw some “cats” we chased them. They eventually stopped and reared their heads my friends and i each picked one up. we all got sprayed but we held on too them. We each brought them in our houses and they sprayed our parents. the skunk i held sprayed me 6 times and the last two times it sprayed my face. my friends parents also got sprayed. we dint have tomato juice and the ppl at the store wouldnt let us in so we smelled for 2 months never again will i pick up a skunk

One time on a camping trip and was sleeping with the tent a crack open and at 1:00 a.m i felt a fuzzy thing run across my face and i began kicking it and punching it than. a HORRIBLE ,PUTRID,STINGING smell ran across my eye and I screamed and the tent was not open. so i kept getting sprayed over and over!! i kept kicking and screaming and the smell kept getting worst and worst! i also kept vomting and i counted the times i was sprayed 39 times, the smell STUNK so bad!!!!!!!!!!!!

skunks smell! One time I was in my cabin and this furry thing went under the couch and I felt it and kicked it! then this HORRIBLE, PUTRID odor rose and i looked under the couch and boom! 1..2..3 the smell was stuck in my mouth,my eyes and my my nostrils i began screaming and boom again the smell was so unbearable i fell to the floor and when i woke up i ran from the area and screamed ” help i have been skunked!”

I have had Siberian Huskies all my life and one of them was PARTICULARLY adventuresome and liked to CHASE things. Her name was Joelle and her twin brother was Gabriel. Think of Felix and Oscar with these two. Well, when they were babies, they got sprayed by a skunk and you’d THINK they’d never forget it. My mom would say “Stay away from the pretty kitties with the black and white stripe!” to them as a joke. Well, year after year, we’d see Gabriel running away as fast as he could away from the skunk, and Joelle getting into some stinky altercations. She got schpritzed about four times – she just could not resist playing with the skunkus despite its funkus! hahhaha! Gabriel was like COUNT ME OUT!

at our summer camp we warren the children about leaving bunkhouse doors open. because animals might get in to sample any goodies they are hiding .
one summer a small skunk got in wile some children were already asleep,raised on a farm i am not bothered by animals and love them all,we had to devise a way to get the skunk out without aggravating it .we used mattresses from the beds to form a walkway to the closest door and coaxed the skunk to take our walkway out. lucky for us we succeeded . but another time we were not so lucky and had to wash and clean up a bunkhouse and what a job it was.

I have left plenty of stories so here’s one 4 u guys! go to http://skunkstink.webs.com/ for skunk info, pics, videos, chatting with friends about skunks and more! If u r a skunk lover or want to be on go here!

FINALLY!!!!!! I see a skunk while driving and i DON’T get sprayed!! I was driving and i drive ny the golf course and one is o the side foraging! It must have sprayed earlier though, because there was that pungent odor again!! It wasn’t on me this time!!!! YAY!!!