I'm posting this picture in anticipation of the next bloom. This Phaleanopsis is one of the ones that are budding.Looking at this beauty takes my mind off the skunk. My family is obsessed, sniffing Tye's fur to make sure he smells okay, buying new backpacks and washing their coats and sniffing around the house. They smell little whiffs of skunk everywhere. Sniffochondriacs!
I smelled him before I opened the back door to let him in, but the smell was so strong it overpowered my olfactory system and for a minute I couldn't smell it. Tye came in and staggered around looking really embarrassed, and the kids began to erupt into a frenzy. Febreeze spraying, match lighting, shower taking, let-me-into-the-bathroom yelling, goof-balls I live with!
I, of course, rationally, began to cuss like a sailor and yelled for tomato juice to pour over Tye. I got him into the shower and poured tomato sauce through his fur, rinsed, repeated, toweled him off and took a sniff. Ouch! Foul smelling wet skunk dog stink! So, Tye and I went downstairs and he sat and reeked at my feet while I surfed for assistance. I found:
"When Fido tangles with our cute little white striped friends, he will lose every time when he returns home to his owner. But don't worry, removing the smell isn't as hard as you might think. The process is inconvenient, messy and annoying, but the odor is not impossible to neutralize."
Very reassuring prose, thanks. And don't fucking call him FIDO! Apparently dogs tend to turn their heads when sprayed by skunks and often catch the spray on their necks. The oils have molecules called tuols that are hard to break down and smells can last up to two years. Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, mixed with liquid soap foam up and break up these tuols and allow shampoo to work.
Tonight Tye is back on Caitlin's bed. I bought two backpacks and a binder tonight because Tye lay down on them when he was all skunky. We are washing and spraying Febreeze in spots. I'm beginning to consider what is worse, funky smells or chemical smells.
Tye has always loved to have me open the sliding door quickly so that he can shoot out toward the back fence and chase critters. He has caught several rabbits this winter. Tonight I let Tye out and he dashed . . . to the edge of the patio. . . and looked carefully around, trying to act nonchalant. I believe he remembers Mr. Skunk.
This is the other orchid that's about to bloom. I'm going to my happy place now.
4 comments:
I've always found the smell of Febreeze to be worse than anything the dogs bring in (once you get past the eye-burning part of skunk). ANd I'm sure Tye remembers Mr Skunk and will be careful to avoid the rear end of anything that faintly looks like him. It could be worse- one of our dogs and one of our horses have both tangled with rattlesnakes. The dog now freezes in place if he hears that rattle!
When you think about how acute their senses are, it is a small wonder that they learn from such strong stimuli. I know I've learned, and I didn't sniff any skunk butt.
When you think about how acute their senses are, it is a small wonder that they learn from such strong stimuli. I know I've learned, and I didn't sniff any skunk butt.
Whoa. Hiccup here.
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