An Alliston Group Of Volunteers Wants Your Help With Purchasing This Asthmatic Skunk's Heart Medication

ALLISTON, ONTARIO—What started as a post on Facebook has gained traction as a grassroots movement for wildlife security. When Nancy Robinson heard wheezing sounds during a walk through her property, she knew something was wrong.

“As soon as I caught a video of the skunk on my phone, I did what any decent human being would do,” she told the Alliston Gerald.

Robinson posted about the animal on a community Facebook page, writing, “Is this anyone’s? She’s in need of veterinary care.”

Initially, commentators brought up the inevitability of animals in the wild becoming sick and dying. Others wondered why exactly she believed the skunk could belong to a member of the Facebook group, accusing her of making an exhibition of her own benevolence. But a group of concerned citizens soon came to her defense. 

“People were dropping off blankets, feeding bottles, toys, and food for the skunk. It was overwhelming how much support this creature suddenly had. A community popped up. A Go Fund Me completely covered her trip to the vet where we learned the bad news.”

Robinson had trouble speaking about the hole in the skunk’s heart or the expensive heart medication the vet recommended she take twice a day.

“We started our own little fundraising group with everyone involved in the skunk’s life. We’re still looking for help if any of your readers would like to make a donation. We’re waiting to hear back from the Alliston Legion about running an event there. I met this woman through Facebook named Cathy McDonald who suggested we host something like a baby shower for the skunk. I mentioned, since it is a skunk, we should call it a ‘skunk shower.’ Then Cathy said, ‘oh, well skunks are known for showering, so let’s call it a spray.’ So here we are hosting a skunk spray. It’s quirky, but it’s what we’re going with.” 

McDonald and her partner, Howard, have taken to walking through Robinson’s property to observe the skunk. Aside from a growing concern for what appears to be the animal’s worsening asthma, the pair have also picked up on what they believe is an effort to shed more than just fur.

“We’re trying to assist with her weight loss journey,” McDonald told reporters. “Howard noticed she would go entire evenings without anything and then suddenly binge on these shriveled weird berries for hours. It just didn’t seem healthy. We grabbed her some high-fibre, high-protein cereals from the health food store and they’re already started to show on her. She’s looking leaner, has more muscle tone and definitely a healthier coat. We’re hoping it’ll bring her confidence as she goes through these medical issues.” 

The couple have also taken an active interest in the company kept by the animal. 

Howard told the Alliston Gerald in an email, “There doesn’t seem to be any males in the picture at this time, not on a full-time or even a part-time basis, which is not to say that we’d judge her if she had something casual going on on the side.”

There is no shortage of opinions among the group's faithful on what ails the skunks most.

“I’ve noticed she curls up every time a lawnmower starts,” said Ruth Hendrick, a retired kindergarten teacher. “I think that’s a sign of post-traumatic stress disorder. It wouldn’t be a surprise if all of this—the wheezing, the heart issues—were all rooted in that. I think the first thing we can do in our path to healing is to give her a name, which is why I only ever address her as ‘Harper Elizabeth Claire Robinson.’”

“Personally, I think names are wrong when it comes to wild animals,” Maurice Curtis, a new member of the collective, said. “Naming is claiming, and we can’t make any assumptions about the animal’s identity, gender, love language–you name it. We have no place.”

But Curtis is not the only one who believes the group has no place in the wooded area. Katarzyna Kaminska, a Polish grandmother who has lived on the neighbouring property for sixty-five years, is no fan of people talking at her back fence and feeding skunks. She recently butted heads with the group after it was revealed she uses rodenticide and bait stations to do away with unwanted visitors—a practice the group took issue with.

“The skunks aren’t the only ones I’d like to poison,” Kaminska told the Alliston Gerald.

She also believes the group should leave this sort of thing to the community wildlife centre, a charitable organization specializing in wildlife rescue. The Alliston Gerald caught up with Rosa Hernandez, the chief executive officer of the organization, for further comment. 

“Listen, if we had a dime for every skunk brought to our facility suffering from chronic asthma with a hole in its heart, we’d be rich enough to update our euthanasia equipment."

The group appears to have shrunk in size slightly after a skunk sprayed all of its members, one of whom posted only seconds later: “Looking for home remedies for skunk spray. TIA.”

As for Nancy Robinson, the original skunk saviour, she’s recently shifted her efforts toward caring for a northern cardinal. Robinson believes the birdsong of the cardinal has recently changed to a minor key. 

“My nephew’s a music major at McMaster,” she told members of the community Facebook group. “He says he’s hearing something called a diminished seventh chord, which probably means our northern cardinal is clinically depressed. Please help if you are able!”