Skunked!

Yesterday evening Abe and I decided to hang out in the backyard to enjoy the cool breezes. We sat and chatted and had a good time looking at the stars. I suggested that we do it more often; seems we spend a lot of our evenings inside watching really bad tv. We watched Roxy running around having fun.

I decided to go to bed, so we went in the house. A few minutes later we hear Roxy barking out front. Oops, we had forgotten to take her in, but she's out a lot, so I didn't jump up to let her in or see what she was barking at. Abe goes to get her and suddenly calls for me to come and that "it's bad news!".

Turns out that Roxy had a showdown with our little black and white friend.

And she lost.

I went around back to try to get her away from the bushes that apparently the skunk was in. Now, I've smelt plenty of skunk in my life. It's not really a road trip until someone yells out "Eww, skunk!" I even find the smell to be a tiny bit interesting. I think it reminds me of the skunk scratch-and-sniff sticker I had in my sticker collection as a child. But I was not prepared for the level of olfactory assault that up-close skunk smell can be. It was so bad that I couldn't get more than a few feet towards Roxy without having to gag and hold my breath. It was mace-like.

Abe and I made the mistake of bringing her in the house, so we not only had to get the smell out of her, but our house, too. That and the windows were all open to enjoy the previously mentioned cool breezes that got us into this mess, so the stench just blew everywhere.

I found a recipe online of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap that helped to get a lot of the stink out of Roxy. Turns out that tomato juice is an old wives' tale. We bleached the floors and threw down tons of baking soda on the carpet to let sit overnight. I could still smell it this morning, so another round of washing for both the floors and Roxy.

Ugh. Now I can't tell if the smell is gone or if we are just used to it. I guess Abe's family, who are coming over for Memorial Day, will be the true test.