Skunked!

I've been douched!

Yes, Sophie got skunked last night. Things are pretty much under control now, but what a pain-in-the-pooper.

Mistakes we made:

• Letting her in the house-it happened so fast. Next time we would contain her outside until we got our act together. We ended up having to throw out a pillow but hopefully (time will tell) were able to save a blanket we got for our wedding by washing it right away. Their natural reaction is to rub the sprayed area to try and get the oils off, which means everything they rub contains the odor. We're hoping she didn't rub on the carpet-we may need to treat it if the initial smell doesn't completely dissipate.

• Not having a "skunk kit" or at least a plan as to what to do. My initial reaction was to pour tomato juice, but evidently that's not the thing to to anymore. There are several remedies mentioned online, just Google "dog sprayed by skunk" and you'll get a "skunk-load" of them. Many mentioned immediatly shampooing the sprayed area with Dawn dish soap (it's a de-greaser and will help get rid of the oils), and then following up with a vinegar type solution (I ended up purchasing some vinegar d o u c h e s-seriously, it was a remedy frequently mentioned) or making the following paste:

• 1 quart of 3 % Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1/4 c. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. liquid soap (Dawn)

Some other tips I read about:

• Bowls of white vinegar and bowls of fresh ground coffee have gotten a lot of good feedback in getting rid of the residue smell in the house.
  

• Before handling your dog, you may want to put on some old clothes. Skunk spray is actually an oil and is very difficult to remove from clothing. Do not let your dog lay in his dog bed or the skunk oils will get on the bed.
  

• Other de-skunking tips

Hopefully tonight will be much less eventful and less stinky!