How Does The Animal Skunk Smell Like?

Skunks that haven't sprayed recently don't especially smell of anything. It's when they let loose that they stink.

The basic stink is Musky in nature.

At very low concentrations it's almost nice. You can easily believe that they use trace amounts of this stuff in expensive perfumes. You'd get a trace smell if you drove or walked through an open area where a skunk had let loose 12-24 hours earlier.

At medium concentrations it's pungent, but not annoying. It perhaps smells a bit like dead animal or rotten eggs (one of the ingredients is sulphuric acid). What you get if you pass by a place where a skunk has let off in the last few hours.

At full dose, like if you're pet or Heaven Forbid yourself has been sprayed, it stings the eyes and makes you feel slightly sick. Some people find it hard to breathe when the odour is strongest. Most people say it's indescribable, although basically it's still a musk scent, just incredibly concentrated and foul.

Yes, I agree that, from a long way off, the smell of a skunk's spray is not bad, actually pleasant in an earthy sort of way. As poet Robinson Jeffers wrote about skunk musk, "distance makes clean."
However, up close, the smell of a skunk is nauseating, and can cause severe eye irritation. If you run over a skunk with your car, the smell will persist on your tires and undercarriage for weeks.
Still, the smell can be so effectively removed that the skunk's lusterous, black-and-white fur can be used to trim garments.
Once I was sleeping under an open window, and my just "skunked" cat jumped in onto my chest. Talk about a rude awakening!
In the morning, I did the tried-and true method to remove skunk smell from a dog: washed the cat in strong detergent then tomato juice. I have since found out that it is the tomatoes' acid that does the trick, and a vinegar bath is just as effective.

On a skunked dog, best to use hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, repeatedly, and for some time rub into skin and fur, then wash dog with shampoo, rinse, repeat. Use a lot of water and a lot of time with your dog. Be sure to talk your dog through it.