A terrible roommate
I was under the mistaken impression with Toby that I was buying a pet. The little known truth is that it's actually the other way around. Toby made it clear who's house he lived in upon arrival. New skunk owners are often told to avoid preparing a bed for their new family member as skunks will naturally prepare their own, and Toby was no exception. He was quite happy with mine.
In Memory of Toby,
my best friend!
If you can't pay the cleaning bill, why do you own such nice clothes???
You've got to hand it to Toby, he had great taste. Only the best would do for his nest. At the time I had simple cardboard units in the closet that provided him easy access to my silks, suedes, satins and chantilly lace, all of which I would have to dig out from his box springs.hideaway. Usually when I only had about 5 minutes to get out of the house.
A pioneer of Feng Shui?
Toby also had strong opinions regarding decor. As I was in my minimalist (read: poor) phase, the apartment was designed for motility. The futon and oversized pillows were no challenge to the dedicated skunk (the same one that discovered leverage to open the refrigerator and retrieve cans of Coca Cola). His creative expression leaned far to the right....
Did I say you could leave?
Life with Toby was anything but uneventful. Toby was a strict taskmaster. I knew where I was allowed to be and when by the appearence of gratuitous skunk butt and an inescapable stomping sound (there are some excellent pictures of this behavior on Stink's page). These signals also told me what I needed to be playing. I mean doing. Also, shoes meant I was leaving and nothing impedes your progress like a skunk on your feet.
I could talk about my baby boy for hours (and this site will probably keep growing for that reason). As I was in my video camera stage I have pitifully few pictures of him - however, I am working on putting together some choice Toby footage for your viewing pleasure so stay tuned!!!!!!
Toby was one of the best friends that I have ever had, and when he died last year he left a huge gaping hole that no other "pet" could possibly fill. I now live in CA and can't get another skunk, as for some inane reason my baby is illegal here! Please go to the domestic skunks page to help change this sorry state of affairs and get companion skunks legalized! Believe me, you won't regret it!
copyright 2000 VivDiva
