City officer kills 'menacing skunk'in dog attack (poor old dog...)

The Nashua (NH) Telegraph ^ | 01/09/02 | Stephanie Hooper

[NewHampshireDuo]

the jaws of a skunk Wednesday night was forced to kill the wild animal in the effort.

Police began receiving phone calls concerning a “menacing skunk” in a neighborhood directly behind Greeley Park shortly after 6 p.m.

After responding to the home of Ann Kimball at 21 Tufts Drive, police Sgt. Peter Bouchard said he found an adult-size skunk attached to the hind leg of an elderly golden retriever in the woman’s yard.

“She said the skunk attacked the dog as soon as she let it out to go to the bathroom and she had been trying to beat the skunk off the dog for a half an hour,” Bouchard said.

He said the dog was not crying at the time, but because of its age it did not have the energy to get away from the skunk’s vise-like grip.

“It would try to get away but then just fall over,” he said.

Bouchard said he managed to make the skunk release the dog by blinding it with a high-powered flashlight, but then as he was calling to the wounded and confused dog, the skunk began to charge at him.

He said he then used pepper spray on the animal, but the skunk continued to charge.

“So I took out my expandable police baton and hit it on the head and killed it,” Bouchard said.

Because the unusual and aggressive behavior of the skunk was consistent with signs of rabies, Bouchard said the animal’s body would be sent today to animal control specialists in Concord to be examined.

No person was injured in the incident and the dog was taken to a veterinarian shortly after the incident, he said.

Kimball could not be reached for comment on the condition of her dog.

[NewHampshireDuo]

Question: We do have rabies in NH but I have never heard of a case in the dead of winter. It's freezing up here with about 2 ft. of snow on the ground. Can rabies manifest in a wild animal in the winter?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Skunks go into a semi-hibernation in the winter and will sometimes awake during a period of mild weather and search for food and then go hibernate for a few more weeks. Apparently this one got into a diseased carcass during one of it's waking periods.

[gundog]

Don't bring pepper spray to a skunk fight.

[ambrose]

Poor pooch. Looks like your cops in NH are a bit more sensible and helpful than those crackers in Tenn.

[moyden]

It was just a nibble.

[robertpaulsen]

"adult-size skunk"

Does he mean "adult skunk" or does he mean a 5'10" adult-sized skunk? Reminds me of "The (Attack of the) Killer Shrews".

[EBUCK]

Rabies has been shown to override the hibernation pattern as well.

EBUCK

[dcwusmc]

You got that right!

[Moleman]

and she had been trying to beat the skunk off
I guess she would do ANYTHING to det the skunk to cooperate

[FreeTally]

“So I took out my expandable police baton and hit it on the head and killed it,” Bouchard said.

Officer Bouchard may need to demonstrate to cops in Tennessee how you use other options besides a gun first in dealing with animals.

[VadeRetro]

Kimball could not be reached for comment on the condition of her dog.

Toast, one way or another. They had to shoot Ol' Yeller, too.

[pray4liberty]

and she had been trying to beat the skunk off

Another anti-gun type? Wouldn't a pellet rifle work?

[Castlebar]

So now we know what former Senator Bob Smith has decided to do with his retirement. Thank heaven the dog survived....

[Harley109]

Skunks are preditors belonging to the genus Mustela like their cousins Wolverines, badgers, and ferrets do. I have never heard of one being so vicious, but stubborness, fierceness, and fearlessness is very much how the family Mustelidae is.

[Mo1]

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[Drippy]

From my understanding of Skunk behavior it would seem like this could have possibly been a rabid animal.Usually Skunks are pretty docile,at least the ones I've seen,even downright friendly.I've seen them actually climb into a sleeping bag with someone and snuggle up for warmth,not causing any harm or spraying or anything.Usually pretty cute little buggers,you just don't want to alarm them and make them spray.

[88keys]

"does he mean a 5'10" adult-sized skunk?"

< snicker! > Thanks for the laugh...!

[MedicalMess]

Question: We do have rabies in NH but I have never heard of a case in the dead of winter. It's freezing up here with about 2 ft. of snow on the ground. Can rabies manifest in a wild animal in the winter?

Contrary to popular beliefs, rabies can take up to a year of incubation to become acute.