Some people want a dog, or a cat, or a hamster. I want a skunk. I was first intrigued by this idea because I had never heard of someone owning a pet skunk. After a few hours of research, I’ve come to learn that they make a great pet. I find it very interesting however, that upon mentioning this idea to people, some immediately reject it and think it’s a horrible idea and they appear to be disgusted by it. It’s just another reminder to me how close-minded many are. Their thought process is “skunk=bad. Always.” All that really goes through their mind, apparently, is that a skunk is a rodent. A black, scavenging dirty hairy gutter animal, and it’s filthy and stinky. And nothing they hear or read will change their mind, because what they think is fact, always. I’ve especially noticed that in the state I currently live in. I’ve noticed that if someone smokes, for example, the majority of the population here will assume they are a bad person, and because they smoke, they probably steal, have tattoos and do horrible things. It’s rather frustrating to witness this immediate judgement.

And now I’m off topic. Skunks. Below is a review that I feel sums up most reviews I’ve read about skunks. And yes, I wince at the grammar/spelling errors. Rightfully so, this review is from “Daisy”.

“My overall experience with my skunk has been great, ill start with the pros, food is cheap, a small handfull of cat or dog food each day, and a small handfull of veggies, anything carrots, peas, any veggie pretty much, and thats about it for expenses, a small bag of dollar store catfood last me about a month, and i get my veggies from local farms so their dirt cheap. Next expense is litter, which one bag last 3-4 months. the next pro is she goes in a litter box, dosent need a cage, so she has free rome of the whole house, not destructive at all, about as destructive as a declawed litter trained cat, even though she has all her claws. Next is shes descented, and given 1-2 baths a month has no smell at all, exept a nice strawberry shampoo smell, next is she gets along with all my animals, my coon, my ferrets, my cats, and my dogs, i would reccomend skunks to anybody, wven small children because their very easy to handle and take care of, they dont bite or scratch, and their so effectionate that i dont think a kid would get bored of it like they would a hamster per say. the other pro is their so effectionate, she reminds me of a cat in heat because she always wants attention, and love, but dosent stick her but in my face. theres alot more pros but i dont have time to list them all. The cons, you cant let them outside without a leash or theyll just take off and never come back, unless your with them the whole time, other wise theyll wonder off, and the only other thing i can think of is you have to give them a bath once a month at least, even though its not that big of a deal because mine loves the water, but i hear from other people some skunks realy fight, and hate the water. overall they make a great pet, they remind me of a ferret in alot of ways, as they are in the same family as the ferret, and weasel, i got mine when she was 10 months old, almost fully mature, and the first week she was realy shy, but since then she has really opened up and completly changed her personality, i think she was shy because she was a rescue, and i know for a fact she was neglected, and think she might have been abused. so thats pretty much it, and if you ever get a chance to get a skunk as a pet i would suggest you take it, you wont be dissaponted. I forgot to mention another con is you have to trim their nails once a month, but its no big deal.”