Monday, October 13, 2008
For close encounters of the skunk kind
Nona Nelson, The Happy Wag
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Dexter, our 5-year-old greyhound, tried to defend our back yard from his autumn nemesis, the skunk. And, just like his last encounter with one of the stinkers, Dexter lost.
My husband, Phil, turned out our three early rising dogs one recent, dark Saturday just after 5 a.m. He woke me up with the news that Dexter had been skunked again. I would have figured that out anyway as I stumbled from my warm bed and got a nose full of the rank odor wafting through our house.
We went into emergency cleanup mode, beginning with separating the nonskunked dogs, Coral, the other greyhound, and Stormy, our 6-month-old pit bull puppy.
We learned last year when this happened that tomato juice is not a remedy for skunk spray. It only makes your pet smell like he was doused by a skunk with a taste for Bloody Marys.
Now we keep the ingredients for the magic skunk-busting elixir that we found on the Internet on hand at all times.
We needed to fill a bucket with one quart of hydrogen peroxide, a quarter-cup of baking soda and two tablespoons of dish soap -- the sink kind, not the dishwasher kind.
As we started the mixing process, my husband asked how many cups are in a quart.
Did I mention it was not yet 6 a.m. on a Saturday, I was only half-awake, and that I really hate number problems? This question almost caused a meltdown. (The answer is four, by the way. Thanks, Google.)
The peroxide and baking soda generate oxygen, which neutralizes the chemical that creates the nasty stench. The soap cuts the oil, which is what the skunk doles out when it sprays. The mixture foams when it's combined, and its maximum effectiveness is in those first seconds when it's bubbly.
Once the potion was ready, we drenched our poor dog with it. He was slobbering profusely because we believe he was sprayed on his neck and near his mouth, since that's where the stench was concentrated.
We rinsed him off, he did the wet-dog-shake and we rubbed him down in old towels.
We lit every scented candle we owned and emptied the contents of all the Febreze and Glade aerosols we had on the carpet and furniture.
Then we all headed to the family room to watch SportsCenter, because what else do you do with a sad, wet dog in a smelly house at 6 a.m. on a Saturday?
Dexter felt pretty sorry for himself the rest of the day. He snoozed more than usual and seemed to dream often, no doubt reliving his ordeal at the tail of Pepe Le Pew.
We had to escort him to the back yard for potty breaks because he was hesitant to go back to the scene of the crime.
He even seemed a little suspicious of Thai, our black and white cat, for the rest of the day.
By Sunday, Dexter was feeling more secure, and by Monday he was back to his old self.
The skunks are out there, folks. Keep this formula handy.
