Garden Dog gets Skunked

It was a beautiful night, the moon was almost full, garden aromas were gently wafting on the gentle breeze that allowed the chimes to sway releasing their soft melodic tunes. All was right with the world and I decided to stay out and enjoy it for a while after everyone else had gone to bed.

I was enjoying my time on the porch swing chatting on the cell phone with a friend when Annie the garden dog opened the door and came in (yes she can open the door by herself). She started rubbing up against the furniture like she often does after a bath. With heavy dew on the grass I didn’t think too much about it since she had been running around all evening chasing nocturnal critters.

When she started scooting across the tile floor I suddenly got a nose full of an odor so horrific that I thought I was going to loose it – I was nauseas. She had obviously had a run in with a neighborhood skunk. It took me back to a childhood experience when my brothers thought it would be funny to throw a bale of hay with a dead skunk in the middle up on the hay wagon I was stacking. I leaped off the wagon and thought I would barf. Of course the brothers were laughing hysterically and once I got over being mad I was okay, so what if it took 20 or so years?

I quickly muttered “gotta go”, dropped the phone and grabbed that stinky garden dog and took her outside where I installed her into her portable kennel…I didn’t need her going back for more. Then I went inside to get a grip and figure out what to do with her. I had tried tomato juice once and that was nasty when mingled with skunky dog stench. So, I did what anyone would do faced with a similar situation….I googled skunk spray relief. I soon found a formula in which to bathe Annie.

One Quart peroxide (At last, a Y2K supply to check out of inventory)
¼ cup baking soda
A squirt of Dawn dishwashing soap, 1-2 teaspoons
One five gallon bucket – plenty big enough for this little Jack Russell

Once I filled the bucket ¾ full of warm water I took it and all the ingredients outside to concoct the skunk spray antidote. I added the ingredients to the water and tossed the old girl into the boiling
Brew right up to her nose. (I was careful not to get it in her eyes) The key is to leave the critter in this mixture for 10 minutes. That may not seem like a long time but Annie thought it seemed like an eternity.

The good news is Annie is mostly white so the peroxide made her so bright she glowed – got rid of all the gray; something that most of us can appreciate. The Dawn soap did a great job of de-greasing. More importantly, this stuff really works – it totally got rid of the skunk odor. She smells like her old sweet self once more. At least as good as any dog can smell.

I poured the rest of the mixture in the kennel to remove and skunky fragrance (I threw away the current bedding material of old but soft cotton t-shirts).

I made a new note to post on the refrigerator, “bring dog indoors before dark”.