In a comment to Lesson Learned Sandra mentioned skunks. Yes, that occurred to us too. I was going to write about the strategy Kaitlin and Torben came up with after their pups had a third encounter with skunks, but that will wait until tomorrow. Kaitlin wrote to remind me of the first and second encounters:
There is the very first time Sammy was skunked. We dropped off the pups at Kate and Al, and were at home – taking a flight the next morning to come visit you, I think. We get a call around 10:30 that night from Kate “something sprayed Sammy and he is crying and rubbing his face all over the couches.” As we stayed on the phone and tried to decide what to do it became apparent that it was skunk…ooops. I called Elaine to see if she would go help, and she said “nope.” I then called the vet and asked if they could help, and they said “nope.” I pushed the vet a little, but they said “what if a real emergency comes in?” Torben was online rush ordering Natures Miracle Skunk Off to send as fast as they could expedite shipping (we now keep some there – all the sisters use it but we make sure the supply is there whenever we visit). Torben’s mom tried to give them a bath (wrong move), and the next day took them to the groomers who really helped the dogs smell better. Kate said the only reason Sammy wasn’t dead is because when she gave him a bath he put his head in her lap and looked so sad and sweet and sorry…. Of course Kate also had to clean up the dead skunk. Banshee got the head and Sammy the butt; you can decide who got the worse end of that deal. Their house stunk for about 6 months.
Then there was the second time (at Kate’s… this always seems to happen at Kate’s) where in the middle of the night Banshee woke up and threw up on the floor. Torben took Sammy outside to potty, and I was seeing if Banshee was okay. As I went to clean up the mess, there was such a petroleum smell. So bad. I panicked thinking Banshee ate something really bad. Then I looked up, and Torben and Sammy were standing there wet. This is when we learned skunk’s spray at first smells like petroleum, and then eventually it gets to the skunk smell we all know…. Once we all realized it was skunk we panicked but it was too late. Kate came down the stairs telling us she smelled skunk. We found all the candles in the house and burned them overnight, used natures miracle liberally on the dogs, the floor, everything, but it was too late. I think the house only smelled for a week or so that time, but Kate and Al did say they were glad to see us go. When we got home we went to a drug store (sans dogs) to get something – maybe hydrogen peroxide for one skunk smell removal recipe we found? We had everything tied in big black bags driving home but everything still stunk. Anyway, as we were in line the woman behind us said “skunk run in?” We were like… can you smell it? She said “yep. Because it has happened to me.” The next day at work a colleague came in, sat down, sniffed, started laughing, and told me his skunk story… we smelled for a few days, but not so badly that we were sent home. That happened to the poor gent who told me his story.
August 26, 2023
OH NOOOOO. my encounters were only in KY as a child when there would be a dead skunk of the road and we drove over it and the smell stayed with us for miles and miles. I can’t imagine all this and do hope it never happens to us.. I have to say I did laugh a little, so Sorry Kaitlin
The grandparents got the worst of it that first time, having to put up with the smell for about six months.
Oh my. A long time ago the place where we were living had a lot of skunks in the area. They were out in our yard and my ex husband threw something out the window to try and scare them away. They left but not before spraying the side of the house. We ended up getting something from an exterminator that took care of odors. For the longest time though, every time it rained you could still smell the skunk.
Thanks for the warning!
Oh m’gosh, how awful! I don’t know all these players, but scratching my head why Elaine refused to help.
Shortly after we moved to the quad, my little schnauzer got sprayed. Naturally, my dad was at work and me already in bed. Sometimes I look back and realize how much ‘stuff’ landed on my mother’s plate that she quietly, and without complaint, took care of.
Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t add Nature’s Miracle Skunk-Off to my Amazon cart, just to have on hand.
Your mother sounds like a wonderful woman. 🙂
What interests me about these stories is the mention that Sammy could have died. I did not think that anything about skunks could kill an animal, only smell really bad. How is that so?
That was a joke. Presumably Kate, his grandmother, could have killed Sammy for having her house reek of skunk for six months. “Kate said the only reason Sammy wasn’t dead is because when she gave him a bath he put his head in her lap and looked so sad and sweet and sorry….”
That is the one event I pray never happens to my double coated (except Misty) Sibes. I don’t even want to think about it. I do hear that the recipe with hydrogen peroxide is very good.
One time when I was teaching high school, I was asked to be a proctor for the SAT exams on Saturday. That morning the principal said she had a very big favor to ask of me. I had to proctor one girl in the cafeteria isolated from everyone else because the poor girl was mortified at how bad she smelled after getting skunk sprayed the night before. It was a day long etched in my min (and nose)
Poor girl, poor you!
and now you are about to find out New Zealand doesn’t have Skunks!
Lucky you! 😀