🦨 Buddy the Skunk Found After 3 Months on the Run!
After more than three months missing, Buddy the pet skunk has finally made it home — thanks to a sharp-eyed couple and a very determined owner.
Buddy vanished from Emily Tilbrook’s family farm in Creeting St Mary, Suffolk, back on 21 February. Despite a search using drones and thermal imaging, there had been no sign of him… until now.
Last week, Tilbrook got the call she had all but given up on: a skunk had been spotted in a bramble bush in Old Newton — nearly 8 miles away.
“I bawled my eyes out as soon as I saw him,” said Tilbrook. “I was so happy.”
But the reunion wasn’t easy. Buddy, scared and malnourished, leapt into a stream before being gently retrieved by Tilbrook, who waded in waist-deep to catch him.
“Skunks can swim very well,” she explained. “I just jumped in to get him.”
Now back home and eating again, Buddy is under close watch — but safe.
Tilbrook first fell in love with Buddy in a pet shop in 2023 and launched an extensive search when he went missing.
“He has lost a lot of weight but he is fine. He is alive — which I am so, so happy about,” she said.
From heartbreak to happy ending, Buddy’s journey is a reminder of the deep bonds we share with the animals we love — even the striped, elusive, and unexpectedly aquatic ones. 🖤🤍