SLO County restaurateur bit by skunk that snuck into eatery’s dining room
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- SLO County businessman Aaron Linn bitten by a skunk while removing it from restaurant.
- Linn’s undergoing four days of anti-rabies vaccinations after skunk punctured his hand.
- Open door left by early-morning cleaning crew while floors dried let the skunk sneak in.
A Cambria restaurateur had an unwelcome encounter with a skunk who snuck into the eatery on Sunday, bit his hand and left him facing a four-day course of anti-rabies shots.
Aaron Linn, general manager and heir of Linn’s restaurant, Immediately knew something was wrong when he got a call at 8: 30 p.m. from his head server, Jason Clarke.
The exhausted Linn had just finished overseeing the inaugural Central Coast Classico weekend event for vintage cyclists.
On the phone, Clarke told him that, despite the restaurant’s health policies, the early-morning cleaning crew apparently had accidentally let a wildland critter skitter into the restaurant from the back parking lot.
They had washed the floors, he said, and left the door open to help dry them faster.
At some point, the skunk wandered in and found a cozy hiding spot behind one of the restaurant’s banquette seating benches, where it stayed put until the crowds began to clear out at the end of the day.
Right before closing time, however, the animal tested its safety and came out, but staffers and the remaining family of customers spotted it as it spotted them, so it ducked back where it was against the wall.
It’s not known who was more surprised, the humans or the skunk.
The diners, longtime Linn’s aficionados from Bend, Oregon, were “surprisingly enthusiastic about the wildlife adventure,” Linn said.
Linn rushed from his Santa Rosa Creek home back to the Main Street business to find his longtime friend Taylor Linsey sitting on the floor, using lettuce to lure the skunk out so it could be safely evicted.
“It was acting normally, not foaming at the mouth or anything like that,” Linn said.
The process, however, wasn’t working fast enough, so Linn eventually armed himself with a plastic bag to wrap the critter in and a box to cover it with before reaching in to pull the skunk out of the small hidey-hole.
In hindsight, Linn told The Tribune, he now knows those two measures were definitely not enough protection.
“But I’d had a long weekend/week/month at the Classico and work, and I just wanted to be back at home,” he said.
The feisty, scared animal was far from cooperative, and in the process, it glommed onto the palm of Linn’s left hand, leaving behind two puncture marks and a lot of blood.
They ultimately got the skunk out of the restaurant, and Linsey took it up Bridge Street and released it.
But the night wasn’t yet over for Linn.
Trip to the hospital in SLO for rabies vaccine
Linn’s wife Nicole drove him to the Sierra Vista emergency room in San Luis Obispo, where he was whisked into a treatment room within 10 minutes.
“It took a while for them to find the vaccine to start the course, but then the first shot was injected into the wound, because they want to get it into the system as quickly as possible,” he said.
Subsequent vaccines are administered into his leg, not his stomach as was the previous protocol, “so it’s not as gruesome a procedure as it would have been in the past,” Aaron Linn said.
An upside to the incident’s timing?
“Our new benches, which have been on order for four months, are due in next week,” he said. “After that, there’ll be no hiding place.”
What to do if you’re faced with a defensive skunk, raccoon or other animal?
According to wildlife experts, animals are often on the move and defensive at this time of year, when many species are focused on mating.
Contrary to popular legends, normal-acting skunks that are out and about during the day apparently are not inherently dangerous, but any wild animal that’s cornered and/or protecting its young can get that way in a hurry.
Likewise, males on the prowl for mates want privacy, not human interference.
“California is home to many species of more commonly seen — and recognizable — wildlife, such as opossums and skunks,” the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said on its website. “These ‘backyard wildlife’ can be found in rural, residential and urban areas across the state.
“Each species provides valuable ecosystem services such as nutrient and seed dispersal, insect and rodent control. They play an important role in the food chain,” but there’s potential for conflict when they search for food or shelter, not to mention human health and safety concerns.
When dealing with a skunk, experts advise that you avoid sudden movements, make slow retreats, and avoid direct eye contact, as skunks spray only when threatened. Watch for warnings like foot stomping, hissing or tail-raising, which indicate you should back away slowly. If cornered, cover your face and eyes to avoid being sprayed.
People who need help removing wildlife can call Pacific Wildlife Care at 805-543-9453.
The bottom-line lesson, Linn said? “No more open doors. They’re bad news.”
