The skunk is dead....

[Flybye]

We had an interesting morning. Our weimaraner (dog) was out in the back yard stalking something that was on the other side of the fence and under our shrubs. My DH and DS peeked through the fence and yep, you guessed it - a skunk

Apparently it is not the job of the local or state police to remove skunks. Nor is it the responsibility of Idaho Fish and Game. We were advised to wait until tonight and it would go out for a bite to eat and hopefully not come back. We tried to spray it with the hose but it wouldn't budge.

Our other choice was to wait until tomorrow, get a trap, and once the skunk got inside the trap, throw the trap (and the skunk) in the canal and drown the skunk.

Well, our neighbor has trapped a few beavers and we called in hopes that he had a skunk trap handy. He didn't. He came over with a huge smile on his face and a high powered pellet gun. He received the gun at Christmas and hadn't had a chance to use it yet - beaver trapping at his place isn't going so well

We dug a hole and he shot the skunk. We buried the skunk. It's all over and it really didn't stink that bad. For this, I am so greatful. There is no other animal so wretched as a skunk.

Want to know what is the funniest thing of the whole story? I went on a bike ride this morning with my NEW bike before the skunk discovery. When I came home I had my bike propped up by the shrubs out front. When I learned of the skunk I immediately brought my bike inside - can't have a stinky ride, right?

My DH says "well you have your bike inside, but no concern for the kids?"
They were still outside. I did manage to get them inside, too.

Thought I could share my day.

Stinky, RIP.

[makbike]

Was the skunk sick?

[Flybye]

Was the skunk sick?

Yeah, we are pretty sure. A healthy skunk most likely would have let loose when the dog was sniffing it out or when my DH was hosing it down with water. I have never seen one that "tame". I will take a sick skunk over a health, active one any day.

[Zen]

Who picked up Stinky to bury him?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

He probably got caught away from his home during daylight hours, with no place to escape to, and sought to hide in your bushes to be safe from dogs and people. He probably would have wandered off back home and away from your yard during the night. Skunks are nocturnal and he would have been very unlikely to move out from under the bushes into the open during the day even if sprayed with a hose. It's sad that he didn't at least get a chance to wander away back home during the night.

[meridian]

Want to know what is the funniest thing of the whole story?

To me, none of it

Unless the skunk was acting rabid, I personally would have brought the dog inside and at least given it overnight to make it's way home or off the property before killing the animal (even then I wouldn't have, but that's another subject)

[Kano]

Flybye --

I remember a similar situation a few years ago -- our Mini Poodle found a hole in the back yard that was about big enough for him to head on into the tunnel. I called some gopher guy, or something similar, from the county. He wasn't sure what the hole/tunnel was from, but we do have rock chucks by the bazillions in the fields behind our house, which was what he thought might be the culprit, and being a gopher guy, he doesn't do rock chucks. He also said, "you better hope it's not a skunk! NOBODY does anything about skunks!" I never found anyone to call about rock chucks, and fortunately it wasn't a skunk.

So, gopher guy wasn't much help in our yard -- and we DO have gophers that we HAVE to figure out how to coax to leave one of these days! And I'm thinking some pretty persuasive and permanent encouragement: the buggers uproot my rose bushes!

Karen in Boise

[Mr. Bloom]

I've never seen a live skunk in my life. I'm counting my blessings!

Of course, I might prefer a live encounter rather than the nasty "road kill" encounters I have while ride

Now, this thread will probably jinx me...and I'll have a series of smelly encounters!

[r900]

Glad your neighbor dispatched the skunk. A prime carrier of rabies, you cannot tell by their actions if they are rabid or not. It is not worth the risk to let them wander away to become someone elses problem.Damp earth seems to dissapate the smell.Let the daisies flourish over skunkie.

[Tuckervill]

If you just leave them alone, they will go away on their own, and won't spray you. I'm surprised the skunk didn't spray the dog, either, and to me that means it probably was sick or something. They tend to scurry along if you are noisy. You don't want your dog sprayed, trust me!

That skunk has probably been living around and frequenting your yard for some time. You just never knew it--that's how quiet and non-confrontational they are. I'm sad that you felt it had to be killed.

Yes, I do want to know who picked it up!

Karen

[Cindyloo]

There is no other animal so wretched as a skunk.

Oh I think some humans are far more wretched than an innocent skunk caught out in the daylight and probably terrified. Whether the animal was sick or not, by your description, your friend was a little too happy about blowing the animal away.

[PscyclePath]

Having vivid images of the "Verminator" from Over the Hedge here...

Skunks are notorious carriers of rabies, and the early symptoms aren't all that evident. Not sure if your community has been designated as a rabies-prone area or not, but this is worth finding out. We've not had that great a problem here (I'm in Arkansas), but I remember from my time in Germany that large areas were designated as "Tollwutgebiete" or rabies areas... Foxes are the major carriers in Europe, and it's an open, year-round hunting season for these critters.

There are a number of striped skunks that frequent the western area of North Little Rock's Burns Park, where a sizable portion of the bike trail loops around... One of them appears almost solid white, and likes to hang out around the dog park. I've had a few encounters with him over the past couple of years, and there's a standard warning among the frequent riders in the area... "Don't pet the little white dog out there... 'cause he ain't no dog!" They are nocturnal, so you usually see them out on the trail at dusk, or on the occasional night rides thru the park. Gotta watch out for the deer out there, too...

Tom

[mimitabby]

I have seen more than one skunk in my day Mr Silver, and they are like most other creatures; if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. When my mother was young, she almost petted one, she thought it was a cat. It was early morning, dark and foggy. But the skunk had more sense than she did and walked away from her.

Why is a skunk wretched? they are a wonderful little animal who has developed a wonderful way of protecting itself. They live all over the country; they hurt no one. I read this story sadly; i realize that rabies IS a problem, but the bigger problem is the overinfestation of the planet with human beings.. If we don't like an animal, we blow it away.

[meridian]

Mimi, that is SUCH a cute picture. Skunks really are awesome critters. I would have seriously considered one as a pet if it were not illegal in my state. I settled for two lovely ferrets instead

On another note, if we went around killing everything that may pose a threat to us, our pets, or our precious (smelling) bikes, there wouldn't be much wildlife left for us to enjoy.

If we take a step back and look at things, humans are just as much of an infestation and threat as any ‘nuisance’ animal, but we have no free killing passes for them

Share Earth

[lauraelmore1033]

I remember taking the kids camping on Whidby Island and being surprised to discover that the campground was chock full of skunks. Dozens of them came out after dark and quietly sniffed us and our stuff out. They were kinda like cats roaming around, but without the "singing" and fighting. We quickly realized it was perfectly safe to roam among them and we were able to make our night time trips to the bathroom without danger of being sprayed.

There was an episode of Mythbusters dealing with removal of skunk spray odor. I think they discovered that is very difficult to induce a skunk to spray. They ended up using skunk stink out of a bottle because they couldn't manage to get any of the skunks to spray even though they were subjected to some pretty heavy duty harassment.

I don't think it is surprising that your skunk didn't spray. Poor little guy.

R.I.P. Skunky