Skunkilicious

Joe and I were going for a lovely harvest-time bike ride in the vineyard about dusky-dark this weekend. Tet, our dog, was along for the ride, roaming the vineyard, and as we rounded the corner we all saw what we assumed to be another feral cat. Tet, of course, took off after it. Only then did we notice the white stripe up the tail. She, having never seen a skunk, just assumed it was another weird animal that would run from her. Not the case...

Joe and I were both screaming "NO!" at the top of our lungs once we realized it was a skunk, but to no avail. Tet charged right in, then 30 seconds later came screaming back to us, dropped to the ground, and dug a path about 10 feet long with her face. She was literally yellow with skunk spray from the tip of her nose to her ears and the front of her legs. Her eyes were watering, our eyes were watering just because she was so close, and, having had experience with this and childhood dogs, I knew our night was over.

We rode our bikes back to the house, with tet diving into the dirt, gravel, rocks - anything - every few feet all the way. We got her home, phoned the parents for the semi-magic combination of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap that helps break up the molecules, and proceeded to bathe her about seven times. Of couse, having to douse her face made her unhappy and, right in the middle of bath number two she escaped and ran down the road. We had to go retrieve a wet, soapy, skunky dog on a bike, drag her back, and finish the process.

Above is an image of the unhappy pup getting her skunk bath. I have to say, it's been a few days and a few more baths, and her face still stinks. At this point I think we just have to wait until it wears off. Yuck.