AN escaped skunk is “fully loaded” with stink spray and could unleash it if cornered, her owner warned.
Pongy pet Sky legged it from a back garden and is “frightened of strangers” and “capable of spraying”, worried Sharon Tyler has said.
A search is under way to sniff out her whereabouts, with fellow skunk Dexter called in to follow the trail.
The malodorous mammals release a potent spray from their anal glands if they feel threatened.
It can last for weeks and, in the wild, even bears and wolves avoid them for fear of getting doused. Most skunks have enough for around five shots.
From tongue scraping to saying no, here are 12 health trends to try in 2023
Sharon said: “The spray is stinky when it happens but it is such a rarity. Sky has only released her spray once. She is nervous and will probably run off if approached by someone she doesn’t know.”
Sky lives in a flat with 55-year-old Sharon and has the run of the garden via a dog flap.
But Sharon, a pest technician, had to temporarily move out during building work and came back twice a day to check on Sky, who weighs about 9lbs and has a chocolate brown and white fur coat.
She said: “I stupidly left the gate unlocked and it must have blown open in the wind. I checked on Friday night and she had gone by Saturday morning.
“She won’t be far. She is seven-and-a-half years old, which is quite old for a skunk, and I’m sure she is curled up asleep in a shed somewhere.”
Sharon, who has kept skunks for around 17 years, has roped in fellow skunk owner Jayden Parr, who has been walking his pet Dexter on a lead around Christchurch, Dorset, in the hope of picking up Sky’s scent.
And while Sky eats raw chicken, Miss Tyler said she is not a threat to other domestic pets as she is used to being round them at home.