July 14 - Wildlife Isn't Always A Good Thing

So, I was supposed to work today, meaning I needed to be up by 3:30 AM to make into Ardmore, OK by 5:30 AM - so when the dogs barked at 1 AM Bryan 'graciously' got up to let them out.  He didn't turn on the outside light like I usually do - not that it would have made a difference... but I wanted to point that out.  So, within a couple minutes, they were back at the door wanting in - unusual for them, it usually takes us 15 min to get 'em back in.

Bryan opened the door, they flew in ran to my side of the bed and Bryan immediately started yelling - "OUT, OUT!!"  I woke up to the smell of burning rubber... Hannah & Maggie were certainly NOT going back out.  So I jump up and drag them out - deciding they had definitely been sprayed by a skunk.  YEA!!!!

Bryan, bless him, was like.  I'll take care of it - go back to sleep.  Uh, right...  the house reeks of skunk (actually more of a burning rubber smell instead of the 'dead-on-the-road' skunk smell), my dogs are crying outside...  sleep, I'll do that.

Around 1:40 we decided to try - by 3:15 we both gave up and just got up.  I made Bryan go back to bed as he didn't have to be up until 5:30 - but I decided that between the no sleep, the nauseating smell in the house, that I wouldn't go in  so called the hospital and let them know.  I researched skunk odor removal and at 4:30 AM I headed to Wal-Mart to pick up supplies - 6 32-oz bottle of hydrogen peroxide, 2 large boxes of baking soda, 2 new dog collars, toothpaste & listerine, and two large bottles of vinegar.

At 5:30 the bathing began.  What a nightmarish mess.  The "recipe" that is recommended all over the net is 32 oz of H2O2, 1/2 cup baking soda and a tablespoon of dish soap (I chose Dawn since it breaks down grease so well and skunk odor is caused by an oily substance.  Maggie was the first victim and she actually didn't smell TOOOO bad, then poor, poor Hannah.  They each got 2 baths of this solution, then Maggie (mainly to make sure the H2O2 solution is gone) got a bath with doggy deodorizing shampoo.

A few person on the 'net said they slathered their dogs with toothpaste and left it on for a bit then rinsed off.  So Hannah got that treatment, I used minty-fresh Crest with Scope.  Then shampooed her again with the deodorizing dog shampoo.  I'm pretty sure they will get at least one more bath today before they are allowed back in...  :-(  None of us are thrilled about THAT!

What about the nauseating smell in the house?  Well, I've gone through a half bottle of Frebreeze, almost that much in a Purina brand pet deodorizing spray, and now candles.  So now I have a fresh smelling skunk smell...  (think PePe LePew with cartoon flowers following him around).  Actually someone on the 'net suggested baking cinnamon at 250 degrees for an hour. That seems to be helping and I'm about to start another batch.

While in Wal-Mart, I could still smell the skunk smell and decided it was on my hands.  The cashier was polite enough to say she didn't smell anything so it could be just stuck in my nose but...  UGH!   I'm sure Bryan is skunky, he said his phone was reeking (he used it immediately to start researching antidotes).

The girls don't seem to have been bitten so I think they just surprised our visitor and was sprayed - which is plenty bad enough.