Mom shoots skunk after it charged at her and her dog

A woman living east of Colorado Springs shot and killed a skunk Wednesday when she says it ran after her dog and then charged toward her.

Angie Guier was standing in her kitchen baking cakes and homeschooling her children when she looked out her window and saw a skunk coming toward her house.

She says the skunk started to run toward her dog, so she grabbed her shotgun and ran outside. Angie says, as she ran toward the skunk, it stopped going after her dog, and started running right for her.

"It started coming at me running as fast as it could, and by that time it was 30 feet away and by the time I was able to take aim and do the deed, it was already 12 feet from me."

Guier says she called the El Paso County Health Department and they had a contractor come out and remove the skunk. It tested positive for rabies.

Wildlife officials say Guier was justified in shooting the skunk because it was coming after her and her dog. Law enforcement officials warn that if you live within a city, you can face charges for firing a gun inside city limits.

The El Paso County Health Department has set up an after-hours phone line to report potentially rabid animals. That number is 719-578-3199.