News: Skunk Kiss Equals True Love, Skunk Club Members Say

Chuck Collins loves skunks. He’s downright giddy when describing their many qualities, saying that they have great personalities, are sweet, lovable, intelligent and easily litter box trained — as long as you let the skunk pick the location of the litter box.

A skunk is “like a 2-year-old human,” Collins says.

Skunks, he says, have the same temperament as a toddler. They can show anger, love to play and are mischievous, he says.

“They like to steal your clothes and make a nest out of them,” Collins says.

Collins is a member of Skunks as Pets Ohio — a group of about 30 people from all over the state who get together a few times a year to talk about the wacky things their skunks have done and let their pets mingle, too.

On March 7, the group will meet at Skunk-A-Rific, a CD store in Fairfield where Collins is the general manager. The meeting is open to anyone with an interest in skunks. Collins will be donating a portion of the sales that day to Skunks as Pets Ohio.

Collins owns two skunks, which he calls his “little boy,” also known as Wolfgang, and his “little girl,” named Harley.

Collins says he decided to get a skunk of his own after meeting someone with a pet skunk.

“I fell in love with them,” he says.

Although skunks make great pets, Collins says they require different care than most animals. Skunks love cat food, but it makes them sick. So they should eat fruits and vegetables and occasionally chicken and fish, he says. A skunk can’t be disciplined in the same ways as a dog or it will get angry, Collins says.

Skunks sometimes have quirky medical conditions such as seizures and intestinal problems, Collins says.

“They’re not difficult, you just have to know how to deal with them,” he says.

Collins is happy to assist other skunk owners or would-be skunk owners in finding a veterinarian or with advice on how to best care for a pet skunk.

“(Most) veterinarians are notoriously ignorant of what to do with these animals,” he says.

He also gives out a free book on skunk care to people who are considering adopting a skunk.

Both of his skunks are de-scented, although Wolfgang still is “partially loaded,” Collins says, meaning it can spray a small amount.

Skunks get a bad rap because of their foul-smelling spray, but they only use their scent glands in the wild to defend themselves, he says. Skunks have a sense of smell that is 20 times stronger than that of humans, so they’re not likely to spray without a good reason, he says.

“It stinks to them, too, I’m sure,” Collins says.

Collins says that in addition to being an organization where skunk lovers can socialize and trade stories, Skunks as Pets Ohio also provides community service such as humane methods of removing wild skunks that are pests and teaching people how to get rid of the scent if they are ever sprayed by a skunk.

He says the old tomato juice bath doesn’t really work. Instead, use a paste of laundry detergent and baking soda, rinse it off with water and then rinse again with vinegar.

Members of Skunks as Pets Ohio are also activists of sorts, trying to spread the word that no domestic skunk has ever had rabies and should not be killed if it bites someone, Collins says.

Wildlife officials will kill any domestic skunk that has bitten someone so they can check the brain for rabies, he says.

For that reason, club members do not allow non-members to pet their skunks because if anyone were to be bitten and report it to the police or wildlife officials, it would mean “certain death to the animal,” he says.

Collins says his group is asking the authorities to test the blood or quarantine any domestic skunks that have bitten someone, instead of killing them.

“We live in mortal fear of someone calling the cops on us,” he says.

But his love of skunks is bigger than that fear.

“You’ve never known true love until you’ve been kissed by a skunk,” Collins says.

This article appears in Mar 3-9, 1999.