Our little stinker

PLUS

EQUALS...you can only imagine!!

Last night after getting in from eating with the Taylors who are visiting, Josiah went to put Jackson out on the lead and Jackson got away. I figured he'd be gone for a few minutes and come back. After all, it's dark, it's getting late (about 8 o'clock...not late by everyone's standards I realize!), and we've been gone for a few hours...he SHOULD be glad to see us and be ready to get back. Well, we ended up putting everyone to bed with no Jackson. We could hear him barking at things every now and then, but he'd never come back when we called. Finally about 9:15 Michael and I were getting things ready to shut the house down for the evening and we heard the jingle of Jackson's collar. I went to the back door by our bedroom to let him in. I looked out on the porch and saw him kinda slinking to the door. I thought he was remorseful and sorry that he'd run off and not come when he was called. You know, that guilty dog look. I was opening the door and Jackson was just stepping in and Michael called "Is he clean? Make sure he's clean!" and then it hit me. The stinch to end all stinches...skunk stink. He'd been sprayed somewhere out on his escapade. I'm figuring it was right before he came home. His fur was still wet on the top of his back, from what I assume was skunk musk. I asked Michael if I should get tomato juice (like the old wives' tale suggests) to bathe him. Michael had no clue about that one. I went and got the dog soap and checked the pantry. I only had Muir Glen organic tomato sauce. I sincerely did NOT want to use the world's best tasting tomatoes to bathe my crazy dog after a skunk bath. Would Rotel work? I wasn't sure. We bathed him once in dog soap with a little vingear. It made little difference. So, off to Google we went. I found out that tomato juice doesn't work, it just makes you smell the tomatoes more. It's called "olfactory fatigue". Well, at this point, my olfactory sure was fatigued!! I was so sick of skunk smell! And let me tell you, the smell of a dead skunk on the side of the road is perfume compared to a straight shot on a dog!! I also found out the skunk musk is an oil, so I guess when we added the vinegar, we made sort of a skunk vinegrette! Well, we found a recipe using hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. I was so glad we'd stocked up on h.p., but had no idea we had 7 partially opened bottle of it! How does that happen???!! Jackson got another bath of the mixture and then got sprayed with a natural febreeze-type thing, and got to spend the night outside!! This morning, he still smelled skunk-ish so Jeffrey and Josiah and I went to the store and got 5 more bottle of h.p. and bathed Jackson 2 more times with the mixture. I then brushed him with essential oils to try and help combat the stink. I think it's mostly gone, but I think I still smell a faint mixture of hyssop (essential oil) and skunk, so he'll probably get to spend the day outside today. We're breaking out the febreeze and yankee candles in the house as well.

Here's hoping Jackson learned his lesson...stick to the goats and the kittens!