The Skunk is Ungrateful

After saving the skunk last week, you would think the stinky little bugger would feel lucky to have been saved from the window-well and perhaps 'owe' us one. It seems that skunks don't work like that.

Our dog Dexter has a final bathroom break around eleven p.m. and when my better half let him out the other night I heard the back door shut, then instantly open again to the words 'I think he just got sprayed'. I went to investigate and sure enough, as soon as I walked into the kitchen the smell was so strong that I could taste skunk. 'Oh no - he did!' I panicked. I looked outside and poor Dexter was foaming at the mouth and shaking his head from getting a blast right in the face.

Now, if you have ever owned a dog that has been sprayed, I think you will understand the instant stress I was under in that moment. The dog couldn't come in the house for a bath as he would bring the smell into the home more than it already was. I didn't want to just hose him down outside as it really wasn't warm out and the water from the garden hose is freezing. I was just about to go to bed, my back was killing me, I was exhausted from the day and I knew it was about to be a long, wet, smelly night. I was grumpy at this point.

We brought jug after jug of water from the kitchen sink to the back porch. With water spilling onto the floor every time we walked from the sink to the door, the floor became a danger zone. You couldn't help but slip here and there, terrified you'd end up on your ass and tossing a full jug of water across the room. We mixed jug after jug of baking soda, dish soap and peroxide to washed him over and over again. Both our backs were killing us by the time we called it quits, and Dexter still stunk. I didn't want him up in the bedroom with us that night, as he was still rather potent. I new if I put him in the basement in his kennel, he would end up barking sometime throughout the night and wake everyone, so I put a blanket in the living room, opened up some windows and slept on the couch.

We took him to the local self wash dog-wash the following few days, and though the smell is lighter, it's still hanging around. You can get a whiff of it whenever he is near you. I've since renamed him and refer to him as Stinkster. He answers to it every time.

Dexter smelling nice on the beach

During this whole event from beginning to end, I couldn't get over the fact that we SAVED that darn skunk from certain death in that window-well. I really felt like he owed us one and should have been grateful to the animals lovers in the house on the corner. Then it occurred to me, that maybe he fell in that window-well because MY dog bolted out of the house at night and scared him. OR perhaps the skunk the was pissed because we closed up his entrance under our back porch and he had to find a new home. Either way, I am hoping we can call it even and end the battle now.