Friendly Dog

[William C Rogers]

In the summer there is a turtle that sits on the back patio and suns, but he sits right next to Bear (the dog). At times Bear will go out for a stroll and return with several dog friends, mostly females. Never have figured out why he's such a friend magnet. My wife has an expression about him, "everyone loves the Bear." He's not much of a fighter though.

Here is a picture of him in the shop and with his sister. Bear's on the lower step:

Attachment 308806 Attachment 308807

Don't tell me that is what I have to look forward to! They are brother and sister, still puppies. Sophie is the bigger one (9 pounds) and Rudy is smaller (6 pounds). Rudy can hold his own with his sister.

[Chris Padilla]

What kinda dog you got there, Rich?

[Clarence Martin]

Skunks often contract Rabies. Hope that Dog has it's Rabies shots up to date.

[Roger Rettenmeier]

In case you haven't thought of a name for your new pet skunk, may I suggest Pepe'?

[Ed Aumiller]

Skunks can CARRY rabies and not get rabies... that is why they are outlawed as pets in most states... we had a descented skunk in the late 70's (before they were outlawed in VA) and it made a great pet except in Feb.. that was mating season... it was litter trained in ONE day..

[Steve Peterson]

I can tell you from personal experience that all tomato juice does is turn the fur on your pet a red color and make the animal and you unhappy. It does nothing to even dilute the odor. The best solution is:
1 quart 3 percent hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1 teaspoon liquid soap or dish detergent
Mix these together and bathe ("shampoo" in or rub down) the spray victim thoroughly.
Be sure to use this mixture immediately after it is created, as it is unstable.
Let sit for five minutes and rinse with tap water afterward, and repeat if necessary.
For spray in the eyes, flush with water as soon as possible.

I have had really great results with a product called "Natures Miracle". All the pet/feed stores carry it around here. It is an enzyme that breaks it down. Make sure to get the bottle labeled for skunk spray. Some of their products are for urine or other odors.

The side of our house got sprayed once. I thought it would go away on it's own, but after a week the inside of the house still smelled really bad. We kept the whole house fan on most of the time so we could stay there. The smell was gone completely within an hour of using Natures Miracle.

Steve

[Pat Barry]

Unfortunately the skunk came back to visit Bear. They were touching nose to nose with the fence between them. Bear was wagging his tail. Guess they are new friends, but that's better than the alternative. I don't want to yell at Bear with his new friend to protect him.

Get a picture, or better yet, post a video on you tube. You could make some money off this friendship! Maybe title it: the continuing adventures of Bear and Pepe!

[Chris Padilla]

That reminds me of a video I saw on YouTube (perhaps pointed to from here in OT?) about a dog and a deer. I guess once the deer got older, he only visited once a year but has kept it up for several years now.

[Rich Riddle]

Get a picture, or better yet, post a video on you tube. You could make some money off this friendship! Maybe title it: the continuing adventures of Bear and Pepe!

Mama Bear is disinclined to foster the relationship. She worries they might disagree one day and Bear will be on the short end of the stick. That likely would not happen, but Walter might get annoying and get a squirt.

[Curt Harms]

Skunks do not appear to be afraid of anything. They seem quite friendly as long as they are not threatened.

Steve

We have a 'community cat' (friendlier fuzzier work for feral) cat that comes around so SWMBO leaves cat food out. One night last fall I opened the patio door without really looking only to find a skunk dining at the cat's dish 3 or 4 feet away. I don't know that I've shut a door faster in my life . The skunk just looked and went back to eating cat food. Then a few nights later it brought a friend. That one was marked differently than I've seen. It had real broad white stripes down each side of it's back and a mostly white tail. And they did let fly one night, had to close the windows. The smell was mostly gone by the next morning so it may not have been as close as it smelled. Our only real concern is rabies. We make sure our outdoor cats are all current on their vaccinations. Other than than, we figure their ancestors were here before we were.

A few days before this happened I noticed a patch of lawn next to the neighbors had been dug up. I couldn't figure out what in the world that was about but later I remembered the nieghbor had japanese beetle traps out. I wonder if our then-unknown catfood eating skunks decided to vary their diets with some japanese beetle grubs.