Stinky skunks

Just got back from taking my dog for a walk, and we had a little scare in the neighborhood tonight. We ran into one of those smelly black and white cats while we were doing the rounds. Now I know they're not cats, but my Jack Russell has no fear whatsoever, and in her eyes that was a cat! It was all I could do to contain her from running to that skunk! Thank God the leash didn't break! She's never been sprayed before, and thank goodness she wasn't sprayed, or myself tonight, but my husband's black lab hasn't been so lucky in the past. He's had it twice. What a horrible experience that is. Fortunately though, the first time he was sprayed I locked him up in the kennel in the back yard and came directly to the Internet, because I know from our previous dog that you can bathe them in all the tomato juice in the world, but it doesn't do shit to get that smell out! However, I found the perfect cure that works immediately on the net somewhere, and I've got it printed and saved in my recipe file. I'll share it with you here, in case you've never found it before. It's a good thing to print off and have the ingredients handy during skunk season, just in case, and most households will have all the ingredients anyway.

1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 cup of baking soda
1 to 2 teaspoons dish soap (citrus scented)

You have to mix this up and use immediately, as it can not be stored for later use. Sponge mixture onto pet, avoiding their eyes, as it will sting. Allow the mixture to set for at least five minutes, and then rinse well with tepid water. Do the smell test in the affected area, and if needed, repeat. I've only ever had to do this process once, and I found it to start working immediately as I was sponging it onto Brutus.

So fortunately we escaped a spraying tonight, but I'll have to check and make sure I've got a full bottle of peroxide in my cabinet for the future.

Olivia