Skunked

 So, 11:45 PM Saturday night, Rob has been asleep for a couple of hours and I'm watching TV. Grady has friends over, and they are all outside enjoying themselves around the firepit. One of the guys casually mentions to Grady, I think your dog is playing with a skunk. Thats right. PLAYING. WITH. A. SKUNK. The outcome was inevitable. I heard a commotion and picked up the words "dog"and "skunk", and as soon as the back door opened, my worst fears were confirmed. I dispatched Grady to rouse his father. Waking Rob at that time of night is not a task for the faint hearted, and no way was I going to be the one to wake him up with that kind of news. Grady gently shook his father awake and then wisely took a step back and whispered "Otis got sprayed by a skunk" and took another step back. Meanwhile I'm frantically googling homemade remedies to get rid off the skunk stench, and Rob dashes off at to a 24 hour Shoppers Drug Mart to stock up on peroxide and dish detergent. He's lining up to pay and the woman at the counter views his purchases and helpfully informs him "You're gonna need baking soda with that." My husband replies "Is it that obvious ?" She wrinkles her nose and said "Yep"

Meanwhile back at home, Gradys friends have quickly abandoned the garden and are huddled, gagging at the front door, as far away as possible. Once Rob returns with supplies, he and Grady set about mixing the concoction in the kitchen. All pretences of following a "recipe" are abandoned as they dump bottles of peroxide and dish detergent and a box of baking sofa into a large bowl. The three of us (Sid was doing a pretty convincing job of pretending to be asleep) glove up and venture outside. Poor Otis had no idea what was coming. Choking and gagging we proceeded to douse the dog. Grady's friends called out a collective goodbye and beat a hasty retreat. Surprisingly the Peroxide/Dawn/Baking Soda remedy worked really well, and an hour later it was our turn to rid the odour from ourselves.

As soon as Petsmart opened this morning, Rob is off buying a vet recommend skunk shampoo and round 2 will begin shortly. Just in time to welcome the rest of the family for a turkey dinner. If you've made it to the end of this post, Happy Thanksgiving