Skunkville

The joys of living in the country.

Charlie came running into the living room this afternoon yelling, "Mommy, there's a REAL skunk in our backyard! Really, there is, and it's ALIVE!" Sure enough, I turned to see a skunk out by Keith's shop. Keith, of course, is at work, so I grabbed the camera and the phone and called my neighbor. The skunk was nosing around in the grass and then would fall over. I was worried it might be rabid.

My neighbor graciously agreed to come and check it out for us. And that's exactly what he did...he "checked it out!" I had no idea that it would spray straight into the air when he shot it. Within a few seconds of shooting it, we could smell it INSIDE the house. A few seconds later, the smell was so strong you could taste it. GROSS!!!




I called animal control to see about having someone come and dispose of it, but they are closed today. I called a private company that deals in wildlife control. I told them I had a dead skunk in my backyard. They took my information to have someone call me back. Then they said, "There is a $399 fee to come and assess the situation, do you accept this charge?" To which I replied, "No. There's nothing to assess...He's already dead. I can show you where he is, what he is, and how he died. There will be no trapping or return visits, and he won't bite or spray." The guy sat there kind of confused. "So...you don't accept the fee?" "No." "I'll have to have someone else call you back." Don't think I'll wait by the phone.

Update...as I was writing this post, only a few minutes after the skunk was killed, Katie Beth said,
"Mommy, there's a duck by the skunk."
Me: "Katie Beth, there's no duck out there."
Katie Beth: "Yes there is Mommy. There's a duck by the skunk and he's scaring me."

I looked out the window to assure here there is no duck, only to see a HUGE buzzard crouched over the skunk. CAMERA!!!

The circle of life...