283 Skunked

“…..it was like having a pet nuclear device.”

― Gary Paulsen

It surely was!

At 5am this morning

Roxie the dog

went after a skunk

and found out

for the first time

in her 12-year-old life

what it feels like to be sprayed

in the face

scratch that

she found out

what it smells like…

It’s a well known fact that a dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than a human’s

I will admit that the stench from that dog who thinks she’s a human made my eyes water, my nose run, and my sinuses still haven’t recovered

everything still smells of skunk

everything

I could be really gross and compare it to the smell of burnt flesh and hair (my own after a gas stove flashed in my face and left arm in my younger days leaving 2nd degree burns, no eyebrows or eyelashes, and an inch or more of hair burnt off)… a smell that one smells for a very long time after it’s gone. A smell I remembered while working in a level one trauma center and felt much empathy for the victims because I know the pain. But I won’t be disgusting and go into details like that.

Back to the dog…

after a very early morning trip to the pharmacy (no luck) and then the grocery store (quite sure I was dragging skunk scent wherever I went)

to pick up peroxide and baking soda,

I came home and was so thankful

and grateful

to see Bill’s truck in the driveway

he was too smelly to stay at work

and worried about the dog

that he took over

the stinky bathing duty

while I was the mixer and runner

all I can say is that after numerous baths

de-skunk spray

feminine hygiene product

and a haircut

then an oatmeal bath

and lubricating eye drops

the dog is feeling (and smelling)

much better

at least she no longer smells like skunk…

Her humans

however

are

exhausted

but even

after showers

hydrogen peroxide/dawn dish soap/baking soda rinses

(did you notice that we skipped the feminine hygiene product bath?)

removing rugs from the front porch & entryway

changing clothes numerous times

and

copious amounts of air freshener —

still smell skunk

(probably will for awhile)

but as long as we just smell skunk

and don’t smell like skunk

the long, tedious day was somewhat victorious

I can’t imagine how long it will be until

Miss Roxie

with her superior nose

will no longer smell skunk

but I suspect it will be a long time…

XO Lisa ❤️🦨🐕‍🦺