Sickly Skunk

Skunks are generally crespecular animals, so seeing this critter in broad daylight was unusual:

That’s taken through two layers of half-century old glass, for obvious reasons.

What may not be obvious: that skunk was not behaving at all like the ones in our previous sightings. It had unkempt fur, staggered around the house twice while twitching uncontrollably, slumping face-down, and falling on its side. I am not qualified to diagnose animal diseases, but rabies seems likely.

It eventually staggered off and, we hope, died quietly in a very secluded spot.

The Town of Poughkeepsie’s Animal Control officer now specializes in dog problems across several towns, with “all other animals” handled by the county’s Department of Health.