Skunk drives family from house
Published: May 11, 2008 at 1:51 AM
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill., May 11 (UPI) -- A family forced out of its suburban Chicago home by a skunk more than a year ago "desperately" wants to go back home.
Vicki and Mark Royal and their four children are still unsure when they can return to their house in Highland Park, the Chicago Tribune reported. Appliances and carpeting were thrown out and drywall removed.
The couple are now involved in a major dispute with their insurance company.
"We've tried to keep our sense of humor," Vicki Royal said. "We desperately, desperately want to go home."
The Royals first smelled skunk when they returned from a family outing in April 2007. They at first assumed the smell was the result of a dog-skunk faceoff and did not worry about it.
But the smell kept getting worse, and excavators eventually discovered the skunk had created a network of tunnels and some of its spray apparently had gotten into the house's ventilating system.
When the skunk was unearthed, it was actually "very, very cute," Vicki Royal said.
Vicki and Mark Royal and their four children are still unsure when they can return to their house in Highland Park, the Chicago Tribune reported. Appliances and carpeting were thrown out and drywall removed.
The couple are now involved in a major dispute with their insurance company.
"We've tried to keep our sense of humor," Vicki Royal said. "We desperately, desperately want to go home."
The Royals first smelled skunk when they returned from a family outing in April 2007. They at first assumed the smell was the result of a dog-skunk faceoff and did not worry about it.
But the smell kept getting worse, and excavators eventually discovered the skunk had created a network of tunnels and some of its spray apparently had gotten into the house's ventilating system.
When the skunk was unearthed, it was actually "very, very cute," Vicki Royal said.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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An Iranian woman enters to a carnival ride while pictures of American Spider-Man (L) and Shrek (R) are seen in Mellat park in Qazvin province, 91 Miles (165 Km) west of Tehran, Iran on May 21, 2008. A Iranian judiciary official warned against the "destructive" social-cultural consequences of Barbie dolls and other Western toys. Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi said in an official letter to Vice President Parviz Davoudi that the doll and other Western toys are a "danger" that needs to be stopped, USA Today reported. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah)
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