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.
And 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 any issues they may have.
“I do this from the heart … It comes from my heart, helping people, and 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.
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. “And 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.”
In 2024, one of those onlookers was Ken Johnson, the co-founder of Skunk’d, a skunk-themed dice game.
He met Cipriani while doing research for the game, which was created by his family 35 years ago. The name was inspired not by the animal, but by Johnson’s mother, who would say “You skunked!” when someone had a bad roll.
Now, the game, which aims to depict the skunk as a “hero,” represents something bigger to the skunk-loving community, Johnson said.
“We doubled down on that because we made our skunk into an endearing character, and I think that’s what’s helped make it very attractive to the skunk community, because they stand alone as skunk lovers while the rest of the world they hear the word ‘skunk’ and they think of this pungent smell and the need to run in and bathe in tomato juice and all kinds of crazy, horrible things,” he said.
At Skunk Fest 2025, Johnson will unveil a children’s book about skunks, something he is excited to use to help others learn about the “misunderstood” creatures, he said.
Although he doesn’t want his own pet skunk because he and his wife like to travel, Johnson is getting more involved with the skunk community — he now helps recruit vendors for Skunk Fest.
“I was fascinated, and just totally drawn in by this community of people and skunks that just absolutely were having the time of their lives,” he said.
Johnson, who lives in Kissimmee, Fla., is one of many people who come to the event from across the country. Some visitors even come from overseas, Cipriani said.
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.
