Creature in Our Backyard

Last night around 10 the dog started barking like crazy (he was supposed to be inside, asleep, but Allie hadn't put him to bed, so he was still outside in the backyard). Allie went to call him in, but Wuzzle just kept barking and scurrying around some mysterious dark form. Finally, a creature of some sort kind of spread itself out in the corner, clinging to the block fence. It's so dark in that corner even with the back light on, we couldn't tell what it was. Todd was in bed and kept saying it was just a cat. This was definitely not a cat. It looked like a little trollish, weird creature, dark and oddly shaped, the way it was pressed against the wall that way.

Finally, Todd gets up to take a look and he still insists it's a cat. No no, I say, a cat would've been over the wall by now. Allie and Zane were peeking out the family room door, Todd was just outside our bedroom door on the patio, and I was leaning out our bedroom door.

So then the creature moved away from the wall and we all got a good look at it and moved back into the house quickly, the kids shrieking. Okay, so was I.

It was a SKUNK!

And OF COURSE Wuzzle got sprayed. Allie finally got him inside and washed him. I don't know if he still stinks as of this morning, and I don't intend to find out. I just hope we don't get any more night visitors.