Skunk Saga Continued

There isn't much to tell, but I thought I'd write a quick update on the Skunk Saga.  My skunk guy came over last week to evaluate the hole I saw the skunk retreat into when I saw it.  To monitor the situation, he put a board loosely over the hole to see if there was any activity coming or going from the cozy little home under the shed.  Several weeks later, the board (and the opening) remained untouched.  From this, the skunk guy assumed that perhaps I had simply scared the little critter under the shed when we met face to face a few months ago, but the skunk did not take up a permanent residence under the shed.  What a relief!

So the skunk guy removed the trap and went on his merry way.  It wasn't much later that I realized, "hey!", I paid him $105 to catch a skunk.  He left without reimbursing me any money so I phoned him up to inquire if I get a refund since there was no skunk.  He said that he charges for a "set up fee" which is nonrefundable (to help pay for gas...whatever).  So out $105 I am.

When I first hired the guy, I was under the impression that he "relocates" the critters he catches, but when he arrived at my house he informed me they actually "put them down" because there are just too many.  Not to mention that skunks will travel far and long to return to their cozy homes (especially if they have a pantry awaiting them).  From another source, I soon learned that the manner in which they "put them down" is death by drowning.  This did not sit well with me, and I kept having visions of a pregnant skunk gasping for breath to save her own life as well as the lives of her unborn babies.  Too much.  Imagine my relief each day I awoke to find that trap empty. 

For me, its totally worth $105 to not have the drowning deaths of a cute little skunk family on my conscious.  My neighborhood has one lucky skunk mama in its midst.