Thursday, September 27, 2012

A Smelly Tale

Sorry it has been so long since we've posted an update!  With school starting and a Big birthday bash to plan I haven't had time.  I really hope to get some pictures up soon with some stories of the past month! But, for now........a lesson.

It was a normal night.  Secret Agent Man had gone to sleep.  Special Agent Dad and I had cleaned up and talked for a bit before sitting down to watch an hour of tv.  We didn't plan to watch long or stay up much longer since it was already late.

00Dog asked to go outside so I let her out, thinking we would go to bed once she was done.

About 15 minutes later I casually asked, "I wonder where 00Dog is?"

She does some foraging and faux hunting at night so we weren't too worried....until that time turned into 20 and then 25 minutes.

Then suddenly it hit me.  It was filling the room.

I started a panic stricken plea "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

Special Agent Dad said, "what is that?".

I looked at him and said "00Dog has been sprayed by a skunk".

We both ran up to the door and tried calling her without going outside into the stench.  She wouldn't come.  We couldn't see her by the light or hear her feet running.

We wondered if she had jammed herself under the deck again and was stuck.  Nope.  She wasn't there.

I called for another minute or two and here she comes running.  Outside of the fence.  From the direction of the playground.

I am not sure how far away she was or how she got out of the fence but I wasn't going out to face a skunk in the dark in that yard.  I ran to the front door and called her.

She came running around and there she was.

In obvious distress.

White fur drenched yellow.

Eyes swelled shut in pain.

Smelling awful.

I did some quick googling, threw on some throw away clothes and grabbed paper towels.

I immediately tried to soak up the excess oils on her fur but was gagging so hard it was difficult.  It's not that the smell was bad but the concentration of the odor is so much that it makes you sick.

After that first response I came in to google further.  Specifically to see how to treat her eyes.  I quickly threw together a peroxide, soap and baking soda mixture to pull the smell out.

The mixture soaped her right up and we had to hold her down to keep the hose on her eyes for a fresh water rinse.

Luckily after that rinse she was able to open her eyes.   I'm not sure if it blinded her for a bit but she seems to be able to see this morning.

The next decision was also hard.  Where was she going to sleep?  She is the most spoiled, entitled and elitist dog that I've ever seen.  She would never dare sleep outdoors and needs multiple pillows to drape her lazy body across.

But - there was NO way we were letting that smell in the house (any more than it already was).

The garage was 86 degrees even though the outdoor air temperature was in the 70's.  That's too hot for her.  I thought about cracking the door open a bit but once I thought of what may sneak through that crack I said no way.

We tied her with her leash to the post outside, laid down an old rug for her to sleep on and gave her some water.  I'm sure the spray got in her mouth as well.

As a matter of fact, we realized later that she was completely lost out there after being sprayed.  She couldn't see or smell to find her way home.  It was only after us calling her that she knew which way to go.

We hit the hay at about midnight.  Then it started to happen.  The barking.  This dog NEVER barks.  Only to be let in.  I knew it was going to happen.  I couldn't let her wake the neighbors all night.

I grabbed up a blanket and went to lay in the kitchen.  Every time she would bark I would yell "no!".  She would stop for 30 minutes to an hour and then start again.  

This morning the smell is pretty much gone from her chest, neck and chin.  It is still pretty bad from the face area.  I didn't want to get the peroxide solution in her eyes.  I am going to run her to the groomers for a bath from them to handle that.

What a funny experience!  Secret Agent Man loved this story!  We couldn't wait to tell him when he woke up!

Last time 00Dog went missing at night we found the dead opposum the next morning.  This time we had a black and white hound sprayed by a black and white skunk.  Never let 00Dog run free in the yard at night!

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