Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Skunk 1, Dog 0

Last night around 10 p.m. Dog got skunked. The skunk in question was small, hardly more than kitten-sized. I didn’t see it until it was too late. I glimpsed it for a second in my headlamp before I saw what happened and attended to Dog.

Fortunately, the stink is not as bad as it might have been. Perhaps it wasn’t a clear shot. I wiped Dog down with a baby wipe and will wipe again when I get home today. But until I can’t smell that smell, he is banished to the back deck.

Do you think he looks repentant? Perhaps he does a little but not nearly as much as he should look. This was only the second skunk I’ve seen at Roundtop. The first was shortly after I moved in nearly 20 years ago and that one was an adult tiptoeing carefully down a dirt access road.

The encounter lasted but half a second or less. Dog himself is fine. If there was any actual physical contact between the two there is no sign of it. This skunk was across the driveway at the edge of the lane, and I thought Dog was heading over there to do his business. Guess not. I suspect he won’t be so eager the next time if he finds another skunk.

7 comments:

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Poor doggy! If it smells bad to you, imagine how terrible it must smell to one whose sense of smell is so much better than ours. I'm glad he got just a small shot.

Carolyn H said...

Woodswalker: It certainly could have been worse, but it still may be a while before Dog is back in the house!

Carolyn H.

Cicero Sings said...

Poor Dog!

Not all that long ago, on our last night in Vancouver, D took Mingus out for his nightly constitutional. Mingus ALMOST had a close encounter with a skunk. Fortunately he was on lead and D was able to pull him back in time. Can you imagine a 6 hour drive with a smelly dog? Ugh!

I've never seen or smelt a skunk up here ... maybe they don't reside in our neck of the woods.

Cathy said...

Poor Dog!!!! maybe you'll get lucky and Carol will go to the pets store. They do have shampoos that can take out the skunk smell.

or you could try this.

1 quart of 3 percent Hydrogen Peroxide (available from any drugstore).
1/4 cup of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate for you science types) and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap, such as Ivory.

Mix and immediately apply to the stinky pet. Rinse thoroughly with tap water.

heard that works wpnders

Carolyn H said...

Cicero: Dog is doing okay. I had him in the house for 2 hours yesterday before I started to smell that smell and tossed him out onto the deck again. Must not have been a good hit, which is fortunate for me and Dog!

Carolyn H.

Carolyn H said...

Cathy: Someone I know swears by unscented baby wipes for skunk, so that's what I tried. He was in the house for a bit last night until the humidity rose and I could start to smell skunk. Then I tossed him out. I think I'll be able to let him in longer today.

Carolyn h.

Jeannette StG said...

Dogs are like kids -they push their boundaries:) Hope you don't have to put up with the smell too long!

Bytheway, since you work with kids (only in summer?) you may want to print out my post of today - it's called "toy makers and parents"