Skunked

Here is an entertaining little something that I forgot to mention. Skunks and getting skunked. So, how many people have wondered what a skunk smells like? One of those things that piques the curiosity...but you know is not a good idea right?! Matthew did express a wish to find out what it smelt like when we heard they were around. Little did he know his wish was about to come true...

Where we stayed in North Vancouver, there are skunks about in the summer, and they like to come and visit the houses, looking for food scraps and dropped fruit etc. We got a good wiff one evening, local estimates were that it was a block or so away. Holy Moly. That scent permeates the house, gets in the open windows and doors. Think burnt rubber tires meets BO, and it is oil based, so loves to hang around. Having ticked that off our list, we thought we were done.

But no...dogs like to chase skunks, just like any other animal. A couple of nights later Mac (a terrier who lives where we were staying), woke us all up in the wee hours of the night chasing a skunk about the yard. At this close vicinity the smell got into the whole house, including the basement where we were staying. Somehow the dog avoided getting badly skunked (a verb that I have now added to my vocabulary!), yet the next day the smell stuck around. Short story, the dog killed a young skunk and it was under the deck. As the only bloke on the premises at the time, Matthew crawled underneath and bagged it for collection by animal control the next day (not something you put in the council's weekly rubbish collection!). Be careful what you wish for! Up close, new experiences are all a part of travelling right?!!