One Stop Pet Shop

Hudson residents help pet skunks find good homes

It started five years ago with one skunk.

Brenda and Don Hoch of Hudson were in a pet store when they saw someone holding a baby skunk. Don Hoch had always wanted one as a pet and it was just so cute.

A year after getting their first skunk, Spike, from the pet store, the Hochs got another. They realized they had a way with skunks.

Their relatives thought they were crazy, Brenda Hoch said. But that didn't stop the Hochs from collecting more.

The Hochs now have 15 skunks. All but Spike were obtained through the Florida Skunk Rescue.

The rescue is a network of Florida skunk owners dedicated to finding homes for skunks whose owners can't care for them any longer. Four of the Hochs' pet skunks are rescues waiting for new homes.

"A lot of our rescues are skunks that needed someone to work with them because they were neglected in the home they came from and consequently became biters," Brenda Hoch said. "We've worked with them and gotten them to become friendly again."

The Hochs often take a couple of their skunks to the local flea market where they get mixed responses. But everyone wants to know: Do they smell?

The answer is no. Skunks are de-scented at 2 to 3 weeks old, which means there is no fear they will ever spray their owners.

Another Hudson resident, Judy Slade, is the founder of Florida Skunk Rescue. Slade, the Hochs and other Florida residents work together to rescue and house skunks.

In 2001, a friend of Slade's told her a dog and cat rescue in Sarasota had a skunk, but wasn't sure what to do with it. The only skunk rescue they could find was in Ohio.

"They literally had to call somebody all the way up there," Slade said. "Right then it dawned on me that we needed a skunk rescue."

Slade said that no matter where you live in Florida, the rescue has a contact less than two hours away who can take in a pet skunk that is no longer wanted.

Slade has two skunks, both rescues, but she's had up to eight living with her at one time.

So why skunks? Slade was in a pet store with her boyfriend in 1975 when they saw baby skunks.

"We looked down and there were these little black and white fur balls. And he said, 'Oh look, they are so cute, wouldn't that be a cute companion for Kiki?' Kiki was a Persian cat. And I said, 'Sure it would.' "

Slade and her boyfriend may not have worked out, but her relationship with Yasmine the skunk did.

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