I only wish I were talking about Neil’s stanky running shirt again.
Despite the fact that it had only been 3 days long, this week has been exceedingly busy for me. I’ve had 4 interviews in 3 days and managed to pick up a freelance project. Combine that with an evening volunteering, the sudden heat that I’m not used to yet, and the rest of life that needs taking care of – all I wanted to do last night was relax.
After finally finishing for the day and grabbing some dinner out (we have been too busy to procure foodstuffs), it was about 9:30pm and I was looking forward to hitting the couch with a good book or whatever TiVo had in store.
Neil wanted nothing more than to go walk the dog to the beach. Despite his cajoling, I (who’d already been out with the beast twice that day) resisted and grabbed a book while he took the dog and headed out.
I’d only gotten a couple pages in when the phone rang:
Jen: Hello?
Neil: You’ll never believe what just happened to the dog
Jen: uh…. I assume she’s alive?
Neil: Oh yah – but guess what she got into?
Jen: She rolled in something smelly?
Neil: Close!
Jen: Uh…..
Neil: She got sprayed by a skunk!
If you have ever dealt with this before, you know what the rest of my night consisted of.
The Highlights:
-Googling for skunk oil removal remedies that could be procured from either a corner store, 24h drug store or other retailer open at about 10:00pm
-Wrestling with a big, wet, hairy, upset dog in the bathtub, trying to apply vinegar and baking soda to her chest and face
-Realizing vinegar doesn’t work on skunk oil worth a damn
-Sending Neil to the store for peroxide, more dish detergent, and douche (kinda bad for people – apparently good for removing skunk oil from animal faces, where you shouldn’t apply caustic solutions).
-Finding out that nobody who works the night-shift at Shoppers Drug Mart on 4th or Broadway a) knows what products the store carries, b) speaks English or c) cares.
-Applying a foamy mixture of peroxide, baking soda and dish soap to a dog who’s been bathed twice already and isn’t happy about it, and trying to keep her from shaking it all off for 10 minutes.
We finally gave up and got to bed around 1:00am – us in our bedroom with the door closed to protect it from the smell, the dog in her crate in the living room, the towels and clothes we used out on the deck.
This morning we were back at it at 6:00, tossing Neil’s clothes, yesterdays’ towels and anything else that got covered in skunk stank into the laundry or garbage, and scrubbing down the bathroom. Thankfully, it seems like we’ve gotten most of the offending odors out of the house – though I think I need a trusted friend to come by and let me know if it does smell in here or not.
The poor dog seems to be mostly ok. Neil was unable to get the douche solution for the dog’s face, so her wee head still smells a little – but other than her dry fur (stripped of all its natural oils, along with the skunk oil) and her wounded pride, she is recovering just fine out on the deck in the sunshine with a peanut-butter kong. I’m going to go out and try to procure some douche concentrate today to soak her face with, and hopefully that’ll take care of the last of the smell and we can let her back in the house, and get on with life, skunk-free.
I *told* Neil I didn’t think a walk last night was a good idea. I think after all that, he agrees.
Hi Jen,
Bad Break! Did you try tomatoe juice? It works well on skunk stink.
Oooooh! Poor Sasha!!
Depending on what time I get up tomorrow, I would be available to do a house-sniff for you, all the while internally cringing because I’m sure my place staaanks of cat litter most of the time and you’re kind enough not to say anything. (At least I can blame it on my husband these days… for another 3-4 weeks).
Poor Jen & Neil too!
Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if it still stinks when we’re over next week – but for your sake (and mine too!) I hope it doesn’t. Man, skunks stink.
yegods. my old roommate’s dog got skunked once. in our backyard, so not only did the dog stink, the whole house stank. Luckily, Carol had a bunch of anti-skunk goo around the house already… it wasn’t the first time Bella had chased the “stripey kitties”.
Wow! Not fun at all. When Jazz (our slightly insane cat) was sprayed a couple years ago she decided to tear through the house meowing and spreading that smell everywhere before we could catch her. After bathing her (several times) she was firmly convinced that the whole thing was our fault and was giving us the cold shoulder for a week (about the same time the smell was finally gone from the house).
Oh no!! Poor Sasha.
And now, your Google ads are compelling me to find the perfect solution for terrible vaginal odor… from the inside out! How interesting.