Summer began as usual at the family cottage. The dogs, our chocolate labs Jake and Ginger, and our two cats Max and Joey and the three teen boys plus a friend were all settled in for a glorious summer at the cottage.

A few days later we discovered that our pets were not the only critters at the summer cottage. We had a family of skunks living under the shed in the back of the family cottage. There were 5 skunks to be exact. A mother skunk who was not happy we had invaded her space and her 4 babies. I did not want her spraying the dogs. We had that happen before to our very first dog Baily, a yellow lab. It was awful -the smell smarts your eyes. I believe we used tomato juice and hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the smell. I absolutely did not want her spraying the boys.

Our nature buff and animal lover Conor was already checking things out, way too close for comfort. We needed to get the skunks out quickly. I, first of all, did not want to adopt any skunks. I don’t care how cute and fluffy they are. We called Critter Control. They came to set up three traps to start with. Now let me tell you this doesn’t happen right away so I had to keep the boys and dogs away from the shed. Easier said than done.

The first two babies were caught in the trap and then the mother skunk. Two more babies to go. It was overnight by the time we had those two captured in the third trap. They were taken away and let go in the woods.

I was thinking to myself any smart woman would pack up teens, cats, and dogs and go back home. But I couldn’t leave the family cottage, besides my boys were waiting for their next adventures and critters to appear.

I do need to let you know that our neighbor across the street from us actually thought we owned these skunks as family pets. He believed we came with them and they were just outside getting some fresh air in their cages. Seriously, did he not think I had enough going on with 2 dogs, 2 cats and 4 teenagers? If you come across critters at the family cottage take time to enjoy them, but be careful about leaving them as permanent extended family members. I did get a real laugh out loud moment when our neighbor thought we owned these black and white beauties.

Visit Cottage-Law.com and believe your family will be secure in leaving your cottage to family members. I don’t know if you can get help in leaving all your wildlife critters at the family cottage. Maybe there might be a way to add critters and family members at the family cottage.

Good luck!

Best wishes,

Dori Penning