THIS is why...
Over the last weekend, I was happily reading in the quiet PM flicker of my propane firepit at the campsite. Jenna was chewing on her bone in the grass near the water. All was well, all was quiet.
Jenna stopped chewing and growled. This isn't normal. I didn't know she had a voice box until creepy creatures of the Harrison Lagoon ooze out of the murk. So I knew something was headed our way.
There was a slight breeze to the evening, so just moments before our uninvited guest arrived, I had moved a bench in front of the firepit with a chairpad leaning against it to break the breeze.
So now the growl changed to 'get on your feet and BARK! NOW!'. Oh how I wish she didn't do that. The skunk walked into plain view! No running, nothing! (talk about self confidence here). But I didn't stop and chat. I saw the black and white fluff just above my chairpad and yelled to Jenna, "JENNA COME! COME HERE! NOW!" I may as well have played a little tune on Cody's new recorder as my instructions had the same effect. I was put on ignore.
My last view of the skunk was watching it spin around and simply lift it's tail...
Whatever! I RAN, dog or no dog. Jenna followed me soon after, coming out of the nasty mist sneezing, wheezing and shaking her head.
Then the smell hit full throttle. The musk (yes, this nerd has searched out info on this topic for your reading pleasure) was so overwhelming you actually lost your breath for a moment. Remember, I was basically standing in the eye of this storm and I had to get out some way.
I turned around to see if it was running after us. I mean, 'a skunk carries enough musk for FIVE sprays!'. Well, I wasn't armed with this info at the time but I kept running anyway. Can't be good to not know where it went...
So it's 10 pm and I have a dog that I don't want NEAR my trailer, let alone sleep in it.
This isn't our first encounter with a skunk and Jenna. She has a history of barking at them and then gets a good douse for her trouble. The first time I cleaned her with clamato juice (I didn't have the old wive's tale of tomato on hand) and she ended up smelling like a spicey tomato skunk. So I had stocked up on some expensive skunk removal stuff from Pet-we-got-it-all-Smart.
I dashed for that, read the label and soaked that dog while I gagged. A wet dog never smells good anyway but now she was wet and putrid.
I took her for a walk while this magical potion so to speak did it's job of neutralizing the odor, rather than masking it. I was so hoping this would work. But it had to dry before becoming effective. As we walked down the road past other campers, nearly everyone mumbled, "EWWWW I smell skunk!" Yeah, me too. Saturating my dog and me at this point. I had a furry walking skunk room deodorizer, the most unuseful thing known to mankind. And it was all mine.
It took a long time for this stuff to dry, but once it did, I could handle being around Jenna. It was not sitting right with me to leave her in the truck as it was suppose to be a hot AM the next day. So in the trailer we went with every window open. Oy... in closed quarters, I knew I had to get to sleep quick before it was too late, so I just did.
A week later, if Jenna gets wet, skunk perfume fills the home. If she licks her paw, she's wet. If she drinks water, she's wet. If it rains... it hasn't rained yet thankfully but I'm getting scared...
I could tell you so many useless things I've learned about skunks tonite, but rather than bore you with that, here's a link where I learned my skunk lessons from. There's even a skunk quiz! (I heard those oooos and ahhhhs) So I expect you good folks to do your homework and pass with flying colours here, for when you least expect it...
http://fohn.net/skunk-pictures-facts/index.html
Skunk Lessons to date:
-carry that expensive skunk neutralizer at all times or try the cheapo recipe from the internet
(I already bought more of the diluted gold so good enough! I mean who wants to cook when your eyes are watering anyway?)
-ensure chairpad armour is locked into position when sitting near the campfire
(that thing saved me! Janette my neighbour commented she smelled skunk in her yard.. my loaded chairpad is next to her driveway. I should move that..)
- do NOT forget to bring in the dogfood from outside
(skunk was after the dogfood I forgot about the night before. I had a baaad feeling when I saw it partially eaten the next day)
- share my story worldwide to prepare others for this insane kind of attack on an innocent bone chewing non barking variety dog just being a good girl and enjoying her camping
Summary: Just buy the stuff and be ready to RUN.
Because I guarantee you, the skunk will not.
