ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603060010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Dispatches from Rye Hollow
SOURCE: STEVE KARK
On a recent evening, I stepped outside to see if I might detect the first scent of spring in the wind.
I can't remember another year when I so eagerly anticipated its arrival. Everyone I talked to felt pretty much the same way, only folks were a bit reluctant to talk it up too much.
They spoke of spring with a measured optimism, afraid they might jinx it otherwise. After all, this has been that kind of winter.
I stepped into the back yard, then primed for a taste of green shoot and wildflower. What I found was a hint of spring all right, but not the sort I'd been hoping for.
The dogs were the first to notice it. They not only smelled it, they filled their lungs with it. They savored every snootful.
Nothing so captivates dogs as the odor of skunk in the wind, a heady perfume indeed.
I've always wondered about this. Here they are, equipped with one of the finest senses of smell in the animal kingdom, and yet there's nothing quite so tantalizing to dogs as the overpoweringly awful smell of skunk. You'd think all that finely tuned olfactory gear would give them an appreciation for more subtle tastes.
This is not to say, however, that I have a problem with skunks. In their own way, they're a lot more beneficial than most people might think.
Furthermore, they employ their malodorous defense only when provoked and only then after ample warning.
Skunks are native to the Americas. The word "skunk" is derived from a word used by the Algonquian Indians, who inhabited much of the eastern United States before Europeans first arrived. In their language, skunk means "urinating fox," which certainly recognizes both aspects of this animal's nature: They can be both elusive and conspicuous at the same time.
The authors of "Living with Wildlife," a Sierra Club book, offer that "an estimated 70 percent of a skunk's diet consists of insects that are harmful to humans." Otherwise, they go on to say, these nocturnal feeders will eat field mice, frogs, acorns and fallen fruit.
You shouldn't have much trouble with them unless either you or your pets make an occasional foray into the woods at night. And even then, skunks generally won't spray without first offering a convincing warning display. This consists of pointing their business end in your direction, hissing and tail flipping.
In short, they provide every opportunity for your retreat short of firing a warning shot over the bow.
Naturally, dogs have a hard time interpreting theatrics. To them, a flipped tail must seem nothing less than an invite to parley - which turns out to be bad luck for them and, at the very least, disastrous for you.
I should also mention that skunks have a fondness for cat or dog food, and they have been known to raid a garbage can if it isn't closed tight. Otherwise, they shouldn't be much of a problem.
Two did raid our campsite one night. That wouldn't have happened, though, if we hadn't thrown the dirty dishwater in the bushes. I was snug inside the tent. My wife was poking the last embers of a campfire when two walked out of the woods and paid her a cordial howdy-do.
They didn't spray or even act as if they were about to. These skunks were more like a couple of old tomcats begging for a meal and seemed genuinely insulted by our impolite rejection.
It worked out all right anyway: She slept in the back seat of the car, and I had the whole tent - and both sleeping pads - to myself.
If you or your pets should be so unfortunate as to be sprayed by a skunk, there a several possible remedies. If it's the dogs, you can always curse them unmercifully and banish them to the doghouse for an evening or two. Washing in something that cuts the smell is another possibility.
Tomato juice works, or a diluted vinegar solution. One night when neither one was available, I soaked our dogs in spaghetti sauce and it worked well enough. For a while, though, it ruins your taste for spaghetti.
Our veterinarian recommends washing in the following:
1 quart 3 percent peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon liquid soap
Follow with a tap water rinse.
I hope you don't need it!
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB