Skunk Lessons #101

Word to the wise: Be sure to teach your children what to do if your dog gets sprayed by a skunk.

We assumed that dealing with the fallout of coming out on the wrong end of a skunk was common knowledge, but found out the hard way we were wrong.

Last Tuesday night these two knuckleheads went running with two friends at midnight.

Keith and I approve of exercise and fresh air but don't endorse the running at midnight thing.

Kiah and her friend K ran faster than Christina and her friend A so Kiah took this fellow with her.

Thinking it was late (duh!) and since no one was out, they let Tucker off his leash, where he must have had a close encounter of the smelly kind.

Now this is the part that suspends belief.

Kiah and K got tired of waiting for Christina so decided to go back to K's house. Not recognizing the skunk smell for what it was (?????) Kiah put Tucker in her car and then took him inside K's house.

Kiah and K finally became concerned about the smell but thought it was a gas leak. They called the non-emergency 911 number but were told it wasn't a gas leak. Kiah brought Tucker home, still not realizing he'd been sprayed by a skunk.

In her defense, she was leaving the next day for a week in Colorado so her mind and nose were elsewhere. While Kiah packed for her trip, she let Tucker run around downstairs. Sigh!

Christina got home an hour later, took one whiff, and instantly identified the offending odor. She asked Kiah why she hadn't washed him and Kiah said she was going to leave him until morning and let Mom and Dad take care of it.

Excuse me!?!?!?!?

Christina coaxed Tucker into the tub but he hates baths and didn't cooperate. She first tried shampoo. When that didn't work, she found a recipe online to get rid of skunk odor so put the now freaked out dog back in the tub. Took both girls quite a while to push/pull/yell/cajole Tucker back into the torture chamber.

When the second treatment did the trick, Kiah decided to inform us about the fiasco. Keith and I were peacefully sleeping upstairs, blissfully unaware of the situation, when Kiah opened our door and let a waft of skunk smell into our bedroom. We were in a deep sleep so had a hard time waking up. We looked at each other wondering if we'd heard correctly. The clock read 2:00 am. Now folks, such things ought not to be.

Keith and I got up but Tucker had already had his bath. We grumped at the girls and then went back to bed but couldn't get to sleep so tossed and turned for three hours, all the while smelling the disturbing odor.

Christina washed the towels they'd used in Tucker's bath and her skunkified clothing. The first wash didn't get rid of the smell and they sat wet in the washer over night with the lid closed. Pew!!! Took a few washings with vinegar to get the job done. Then had to run an empty load with bleach to de-scent the washer.

All the coats that hung in the laundry room stank.

Someone put Tucker's stinky collar in the garage so, yep, you guessed it, the garage smelled too.

Tucker was a skittish mess the next day, slinking around, being clingy, and jumping at his own shadow.

When Kiah's friend K went to work the next day, someone called the janitor into her room because they couldn't figure out where the odd smell was coming from.

We've nicknamed Kiah's car, "The Skunkmobile" as it still reeks. Christina sprayed vinegar in there to absorb the odor so now the car smells like skunk, vinegar, and spoiled mayonaise.

In one fell swoop, the skunk via Tucker via Kiah stunk up one car, two houses, a garage, two loads of laundry, and a classroom. Talk about the ripple effect.

If ever there was a time to use the Scandinavian all purpose word, "Uffda," now was the time.

The smell is gradually subsiding and hopefully lessons were learned all the way around. (right girls?)
 

I'm linking up with Rachel at Once Upon a Miracle for True Story Tuesday. She is one funny lady so be sure to check her out.

P.S. - For future reference, here's the DeSkunkifier Recipe
1 qt. of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
¼ to ½ cups Baking Soda
1 – 2 tsp. dish soap. (Don't store this in a closed container since the mixture creates pressure and could burst.) If the bleaching effect hydrogen peroxide could have on your dog’s coat is a concern, try substituting vinegar for the peroxide.