North Ridgeville, Ohio, resident Deb Cipriani’s day begins before the sun rises.
Before starting her full-time job at 10 a.m., she wakes up at 4 a.m. to take care of her skunks, all rescued through her nonprofit skunk rescue, Skunk Haven. Then, after work, she feeds and cleans their cages all over again. She hasn’t taken a vacation in years.
Cipriani founded Skunk Haven in 2001, after her first skunk, Daisy, fell sick. Cipriani realized medical information for pet skunks was lacking, so she took matters into her own hands.
The Skunk Haven website is now home to resources about pet skunk diets, care and what to do when they get sick — all norms she helped establish with her vet. She also makes herself available to help any skunk owner with issues they may have.
“I do this from the heart …I am helping people 24/7 with their pet skunks, if they need any assistance,” she said.
The rescue only takes care of skunks who were previously pets, meaning they are domestic, captive-born skunks that have their scent glands surgically removed.
Skunks have been kept as pets for centuries, including by Indigenous peoples and Pilgrims. The animal typically has a lifespan of six to 10 years.
Celebrating skunks
To support skunks at the rescue, Cipriani started Skunk Fest, a celebration of all things skunks. What started as a small gathering in her backyard has now grown into an annual event at South Central Park in North Ridgeville.
“To me, it’s a mini vacation because I get to see everybody,” Cipriani said.
The 24th Skunk Haven fundraiser will be on Sept. 13, 2025.
Cipriani said the most important donations are monetary and in the form of paper towels, of which she goes through several rolls each week to take care of and clean the skunks.
“I feel very thankful and happy that people do support Skunk Haven, and we need support because we’re not like a cat or dog rescue where people are donating all the time,” she said.
Featuring skunk-themed trinket vendors and events like the skunk costume contest, Skunk Fest’s main stage event is the crowning of the Skunk Fest King, Queen, Princess and Prince, all judged based on traits like temperament, tail and fur. The skunks and their humans are given rhinestone crowns to commemorate their win, Cipriani said.
Skunk Fest is also an opportunity for people to have their first interactions with skunks.
“People walk around just like, ‘Wow!’ with their mouths hanging, looking at all the different colors [of skunks], because we have apricot, lavenders, champagnes, of course, white ones and beautiful gray ones,” Cipriani said. “Normally, people see skunks in the wild, they run in the opposite direction. At Skunk Fest, they’re not running from the skunks. They’re actually looking at them.”
Skunks as pets
People from all over the country, and even from overseas, attend Skunk Fest, Cipriani said.
But although skunk love is widespread, owning a pet skunk is only legal in 17 states. Out of these states, six allow skunks to be kept as pets without a special permit.
In Ohio, the law states that pet owners must request a license from the Department of Wildlife within 10 days of obtaining their animal.
Skunk Haven volunteer Renee Pearlstein said she refused to move to Alabama when her husband was offered a job there because she wouldn’t be able to keep her pet skunks.
“They’re challenging, and they keep me on my toes, and I love them,” Pearlstein said of her skunks.
She currently has three, named Violet, Luke and Sophia. She names all of her skunks with human names because they are her “furry little kids,” she said.
Pearlstein first heard about Skunk Fest when she called Cipriani in a panic at 2 a.m. one day — her skunk, Priscilla, was sick. That year, she went to the event, and hasn’t looked back.
“I went to meet other skunk people and things like that. … and then I discovered I had a thing for helping the skunks and getting people to give us donations,” she said.
She primarily focuses on the educational aspect of Skunk Haven, touring local elementary schools to teach students about the animal.
Her favorite part — at these sessions and at Skunk Fest — is watching people change their minds about skunks.
“And then you see him turn from the wrinkled ‘“ew’” nose to ‘“oh, wow’” with a smile, and that’s always a good feeling,” Pearlstein said.