Skunk in action

Some of you might be sick of hearing about Toby. Tough luck. Don't read this. I'm not sick of him, and on this blog, it's really only my opinion that matters. :)

This post is all about how much cuter and more adorable my pet is than yours.

Every day when I get home, Toby runs to greet me at the door. Then, I usually feed him a little treat while I go to the office to check my email. In the evenings, I might plunk down in bed to read or grade papers or what have you, and he usually joins me by my side.
These first pictures were taken after he fell asleep next to me, and was tired enough that he didn't wake up when I left to grab the camera.










Here he is, peacefully sleeping.

...and here he is, the instant he was awakened. We are constantly reminded that Toby is still a wild animal, and still has wild animal instincts. He is defensive if something wakes him up... hence the compact body and huge tail!










Once he realizes it's me, he begins to play. He flashes his bum at me. (The camera has a slight stall before it takes the picture, so you didn't get the full view. But his body is slightly U-shaped in this pic.)










In addition to bum-flashing, he stomps. He stomps with all his might! Stomp stomp, with both front feet at the same time, tail in full sail. He'll charge at you, too, pre-stomp. Every night, it's run run run! stomp stomp stomp!










These pictures were taken later that evening. James and I were relaxing in bed, and he joined us. Plop! Right next to me.










...He commences the hourly bath by grabbing his hind leg and running his fur through his teeth. It looks like he's gnawing on a drumstick.










And of course, he must play. He'll bat at our fingers, lunge at us, open his mouth wide to flash his big teeth.










Oh, and he loves climbing all over us, too.









While I write this, he is curled up on my lap, hiccupping softly.