\u201cOh, God! Now what?\u201d thought Natalie Vinueza, co-owner of the riverside coffee and community destination.<\/p>\n
A skunk-at-the-garden-party situation in Petaluma recently reminded locals of the endless unpredictability of local wildlife.<\/p>\n
The incident, disrupting an otherwise calm morning on Friday, Aug. 22 just outside Petaluma\u2019s Grand Central Cafe<\/a>, began with a woman screaming.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, God! Now what?\u201d thought Natalie Vinueza, co-owner of the riverside coffee and community destination.<\/p>\n \u201cA skunk! A skunk! A skunk!\u201d the woman shrieked.<\/p>\n Vinueza jumped to her feet, summoned her husband and business partner, Juan Carlos, and together they ran outside.<\/p>\n Although they had smelled a skunk earlier that morning, Vinueza said, the couple was surprised at what they saw: The woman, while throwing away a coffee cup, had startled a skunk inside one of the garbage cans and gotten sprayed. Some other people were in the line of fire and also were sprayed.<\/p>\n The unlucky customers were there that morning for a singalong led by local music teachers Tyler Johnson and Julia Cramer<\/a>, who host a free preschool music hour as part of a grant from Play It Forward Music Foundation. On this particular Friday, they were performing to a crowd of no less than 30 kids and their caregivers.<\/p>\n Once the hullabaloo had died down, Juan Carlos placed the lid over the can and kept the skunk there until animal control could arrive a few minutes later. They safely retrieved the animal and removed it from the premises.<\/p>\n Vinueza said they removed the skunk-infused garbage can.<\/p>\n With the incident finally over, the Vinuezas said they went back to their cafe, grabbed a Henhouse Saison Ale, sat down in one of their Adirondack chairs, and looked over at the river, wondering, \u201cWhat else does the day have in store?\u201d<\/p>\n