I Stink

So does Buddy, and Ziggy, and my whole house. Ever since we moved in at the new house, Buddy has been trying to dig his way under the concrete slab back porch, and paces back and forth near a crack in it, cocking his head this way and that, as though "listening" to what's underneath. I figured it was a possum.

Last night, I discovered differently. I let the dog out, only to see Buddy attacking a little black blob that - at first - I thought was a kitten. NOPE! Then I noticed the white stripe. Oh, crap! I started screaming at Buddy to get away from it and leave it alone. Just as he dropped it, the baby whipped around and sprayed him. Then Momma Skunk came charging from out in the yard, and sprayed Buddy again.

Buddy started sneezing and gagging, and rolling all over the ground. Then, not being one to suffer alone, Buddy ran over to Ziggy and rubbed up against him, spreading the stench. I put both dogs in the garage so I could do an Internet search to see what was the best remedy. Then I left Jamie at home sleeping (what else was I supposed to do at midnight when he was dead to the world asleep) and hurried to the nearest grocery store and bought peroxide, baking soda and dish soap to scrub down both dogs.

Now, take a moment to picture this. I'm a crazy woman, with my hair standing straight up, in my pajamas (a *nice* t-shirt reading "Do something with your life: Get me a beer!" and aqua blue shorts. Don't ask about the shirt. It was a gag gift for Dad I never got to give him and I hated to waste money by throwing it away, so I wear it to bed) and smelling faintly of skunk. Then, I'm muttering to myself, complaining about stupid dogs who don't know when to leave other creatures alone. Walking around the grocery store at midnight. In mismatched shoes. Oh, yeah, I was a sight! I'm sure they thought I was a bag lady.

I got home, to discover the stench had permeated the house. It seems the smell drifted in from the garage, and was also aided in spreading by the a/c. The incident in the yard occurred near the outside a/c unit, which then sucked the smell in and distributed it throughout the whole house. I trapped both dogs in the bathroom, opened the window in there, and proceeded to give them both baths in a solution of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. It got most of it out, but the house still stinks. Then Buddy went and rolled in the dirt where it happened first thing this morning when I let him out to pee.

On my lunch break, I'm going to PetSmart to buy some spray that everyone swears will do the trick, not only on the dogs, but on the whole house. And on my hair, that seems to have absorbed some of the eau de skunk. Every time I turn my head and my hair fluffs out, I smell it again. I'm getting a headache from it.

If it had been Ziggy, he probably wouldn't have even bothered the baby skunk. As a Bichon Frise, he very much doesn't give a flying flip what happens outside. He runs out, pees, and runs back up to the door to be let in. No hunting instincts. No desire to commune with other animals. He isn't an animal, in his mind, he's just a really short person - with four legs. Buddy, on the other hand, is very much a dog. He's a hunter, and he just can't resist the opportunity to tackle other animals. He just had to go and investigate the durn skunk. I'm realizing that I pretty much hate everything about terriers that make them, well, terriers. ARRGH!