Skunked on Father's Day

It was an unpleasant start to Father’s Day. It also was a surprise plus a bit or irony.

Earlier, I enjoyed an evening of dirt track auto racing. Rain had stayed away, and the racing was good. 

Arriving at home, I was greeted by my excited rat terrier, Tyler. It always makes me feel good to know he is so excited to see me. After the greeting, I let him out the back door into the fenced in yard.

It was just after midnight and Saturday Night Live was a rerun. I switched the TV to a previously recorded session of Dave Letterman. Guest Jim Carrey told a story about taking his dogs for a walk. The pair charged into bushes and made a rapid retreat after being spayed by an angry skunk. 

The way Carrey told the story was hilarious. It was a Carrey impression of Tom Hanks telling a story about his dogs and a skunk of the show a couple years ago. Anyway, it was really funny.

About that time, Tyler jumped on the sun room door, announcing he wanted back into the house.

As I opened the door, something smelled bad. Due to my allergies and sinus problems, anytime I smell anything, it is significant. This smell was significant. It was skunk.

What are the chances of watching a skit on TV about dogs getting “skunked”, and I open the door and my dog has been skunked?. He raced around the house trying to escape the smell.

Tyler was quickly caught directed to the bathtub. Two shampoos and one tomato bath later, nearly all the skunk smell was gone. At least, that is what wife, Phyllis reported.

Fortunately, I don’t think Tyler experienced a direct hit from the skunk. My hope now is that the skunk departed for good and isn’t taking up residence somewhere under the deck.

I’m a veteran of numerous skunk and dog encounters. I’ve had direct hits myself. Some people don’t think the tomato juice works, but I’ve had good luck with it and shampoo

It worked on me as well.

In the past, I looked up skunk smell on the internet, I found another skunk smell remover that many people claim works well. It calls for a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, and two tablespoons of dish detergent (not the stuff for dishwashers). If you have a large dog, the amount can be doubled or tripled.

Mix the ingredients and use it while it is foaming. It is the oxygen that reacts with the thiols in the skunk stink to neutralize it. Don’t try to store any left over mix as it reportedly could explode.

The remedies seem to work well, but no matter how much effort you put into it, there still probably will be a bit or skunk aroma remaining for a week or two, especially if the dogs get wet.

Anyway, Father’s Day turned out well. My kids both had fun with greetings and gentle jabs about my skunk encounters.