What's Next? We've Been Skunked!

I'm telling you the last few months have been the most challenging in the world of pet ownership and it hasn't stopped yet.

The Prednisone is making my dog drink a lot.  So, she needs to go out a lot.  I noticed Wednesday morning she had had an accident in the night.  Fortunately, it was on the easily cleanable vinyl flooring.  So, Thursday night when she wanted out at 2am I thought "thank goodness she woke me up."  I got up and let her out.  She shot out like a rocket.  I thought she went after a cat.  I was hoping the cat had gotten away, but there was still some scuffling.  Then there was a poodle sneeze.  The poodle trotted away and out from the fence into the porch light as proud as a peacock came strutting a skunk with it's white and black tail standing tall.

My poodle was heading for my door.  I slammed it shut.  I wasn't sure if she got sprayed, but I was pretty sure she had, because of the sneeze.  It's 2 am and I really don't want to wake up dear hubby, but I don't think I can handle this myself.  OK I don't WANT to handle this myself.  So, I wake up dear hubby and tell him "I think the poodle has been sprayed by a skunk."  He groggily says, "Are you sure?"  I walked back to the French back doors and I can see the poodle patticaking at the door for me to let her in.  What she was doing was forcing skunk smell in through the crack in the doors.  I walk back to the bedroom and say, "Yep, I'm sure!"

Dear Hubby doesn't get near enough sleep mostly by his choice, so when he's a sleep I don't like to wake him willy nilly.  When there is a mini crisis though he gets right up and can be counted on to help calmly and surprisingly uncrankily.  Is that a word?

First thing I did was turn on my computer before I woke him up.  I remember seeing a formula for getting rid of skunk smell on a PBS Skunk show about 5 years ago that was guaranteed to work well.  I remembering saying, "I should write that down" back then.  I thought when will I ever come in contact with a skunk?  Talk about famous last words.  Want to hear some more famous last words?  Because my poodle had surgery a few weeks ago I asked my husband THAT night "Would it be safe for her incision to give her a bath tomorrow?  She's kind of stinky."  I didn't know the half of what I was saying.

Krebaum’s Formula to De-Skunk Pets
Items Needed:
1 quart of fresh (not old or out-dated) 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) – to act as a buffer
1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid soap – to alkalize the peroxide (don’t use shampoo)
If it’s for a larger pet, 1 quart of lukewarm water can be added.
Directions:
Be careful to keep this formula out of your pet’s ears, eyes and mouth. Lather thoroughly and deeply into pet fur. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse well with water.

Do this cleaning procedure outside, and if you have plastic goggles–wear them. Dogs especially are notorious for shaking their fur out when wet, you don’t want this stuff spraying in your eyes.

This recipe can be used on people, pets, clothing, or outdoors where needed. Be careful when applying and don’t let it get into eyes, ears or mouths.

Skunks can carry rabies, take to vet immediately if you find any bleeding or open wounds while washing your pet.

Amazingly, I had ALL the ingredients.  I got a plastic tub from the garage.  I wasn't sure how much would be needed to wash her.  I wanted to catch the formula in the tub and reuse if needed.  Armed with the formula and tub we headed to the backyard hubby in shorts me in my pajamas.

The hose I needed was coiled up right where the skunk was last sighted.  I decided to use the hose by the other back door only the teenagers had disconnected it.  I wondered why as I screwed it back on the hose bib and turned it on.  Next thing I knew a 6 foot tall rooster tail stream of ice cold water is spraying my backside through a giant hole in the hose.  OK now I know why it was disconnected!  I scream.  Dear hubby thinks the skunk is attacking me.  I quiet down and quickly tell him I was hosed down with cold water.  He sees me me fighting the hose like a water wiggle.  He's now fighting to hold the dog in the tub who wants to come to my rescue.  Now we're laughing, but trying to be quiet at 2 am in the morning not wanting to wake the neighbors or the kids.

We wetted her down with the ice cold water from the hose and she's looking at us with eyes that are saying, "Why are you being so mean to me?"  Dear hubby is scrubbing her face and neck I'm scrubbing the rest of her.  I am getting worried that she's going to get too cold since she's got some health issue and recovering from surgery.  Dear hubby says I'll rinse her in a warm shower.  That made me feel better to get her in a warm shower.  As he rinsed her in the shower I got towels from the rag cabinet.  I pull back the shower curtain and there she is in his arms like he use to bathe our babies when they were itty bitty.  Poodle is looking itty bitty and sad.  I took her from his arms and I could tell she was relieved it was all over.

Remarkably this all took less than half an hour.  We were back in bed at 2:30 am with a dog who smelled nice enough to be welcomed back in the bed.  Considering 30 minutes earlier she stunk so bad we didn't even want her in our backyard.  The formula worked GREAT!

Next day I got many recommendations of tomato juice, but I've been told it really doesn't work that well.  Plus I never have tomato juice in my house.  The formula worked great.  Yeah if you stick your nose in the hair on her neck there is a faint smell of skunk, but how often does one do that.  We used about half of the formula and she was soaked through and through and suds up.  So, for a 23 pound dog it was more than enough.