when annoyed. There was Mickey, for instance, a skunklet 

 presented to a friend of mine when we were school-children. 

 What a workout we gave that skunk! We did just about every- 

 thing but use him for a basketball, and he loved it. We had been 

 told that Mickey had been "fixed," of course. 



Cats and dogs gave the young skunk plenty of room. Then 

 one Sunday morning, after Mickey had been a household pet 

 for about three months, a new kid showed up with a sassy fox 

 terrier on a leash. 



"That skunk safe?" the new kid wanted to know. 



"Sure." 



"Betcha he's scared of my dog then." 



"Naw." 



So the kid unsnapped his dog, which went yipping over to 

 Mickey, who retreated carefully. The terrier pursued, getting 

 nastier. And then an incredible thing happened Mickey erected 

 his tail and stank up the dog. Our patient playmate had been 

 armed all along! 



Nowadays genuinely deactivated young skunks can be bought 

 from animal dealers for about $20 F.O.B. They make fine pets 

 for youngsters because they are as playful as Siamese kittens 

 and are possibly even more affectionate. Young ones can be 

 housebroken and taught to come when called. They keep them- 

 selves fastidiously clean, and grow up to become terrific mousers. 



It seems possible that young skunks make good pets because 

 they are a gregarious, family-minded breed in the wild state. 

 Litters of about six are born in springtime and the mother looks 

 after the whole crew with occasional help from the old man 

 for a year. Skunks are mostly nocturnal, and more than once I 

 have seen a mother abroad of a moonlit night, the little ones 

 toddling along in single file like a well-ordered conga line. She 

 would show them such skunk tricks as how to raid a hornets' 

 nest and dispatch its occupants before they wake up. 



Aside from farmers and trappers, few people realize the extent 

 of skunkdom in this country. The common striped skunk, which 

 reaches the size of a house cat, and the smaller spotted skunk 

 blanket the entire U. S. and much of Canada. Hog-nosed skunks 



