Rockford Pet Owners Beware Because The Skunks Are Back

The skunks are back so beware pet owners in Rockford.

I had a lot of fun in high school but like many kids, I had my fair share of embarrassing moments. One of the worst happened during my freshman year. That is already a difficult transition without any mishaps. This time I had a big one.

Our family dog was an Alaskan Malamute. She really enjoyed being outside. Sometimes it was hard to get her to come in the house, especially at night. She also had a fondness for chasing after other animals that ventured into our yard. It was not a good experience for most of them.

A couple of times the outcome did not go in our dog's favor and the whole family had to pay the price. That is when she came face-to-face with a skunk. Luckily, it only happened a couple of times. Afterward, she had to spend a couple of days in the garage and get treated to a tomato juice bath.

The second time, my dad was out of town for a business trip. Our dog had some sort of animal cornered by our fence. She was going crazy. We looked outside and saw a skunk. That visitor did not stay long but it was enough time to do some damage.

I was finally able to get our pet into the safety of the garage. Unfortunately, that skunk had already made its mark. Our poor dog got sprayed and smelled terrible.

I thought I was out of range of the critter and did not get the smell on me too. Well, I was wrong. It got me too. The scent pretty much killed my sense of smell because it was so bad. I dare say I got used to it.

The next morning, I could not really tell the skunk odor was still around. My jacket had it bad. I walked into school and everyone could immediately smell skunk. Of course, they figured out it was me, It was such an embarrassing moment. It would take a couple of years to live that one down.

Whenever I catch the whiff of a skunk, I get that flashback from high school. As the weather has been warming up, I have been smelling a skunk every day on my way to work. I have noticed postings about skunk sights in my neighborhood on social media. I decided to look up some info about the animals.

According to teerminix.com,

"While skunks do not hibernate, they do become significantly idler once temperatures begin to drop. During the winter, skunks mostly huddle in their dens for warmth. However, the skunk mating season usually takes place in February and March, and most skunk young (or kits) are born in April and May."

The spring-like weather has stirred them up and they are out looking for love. Be careful if you are a pet owner and let your animals outside. The smell is not easy to get out of anything, especially fur.