Skunked, Again!

I'm surprised I didn't mention this earlier but I have been busy.

A couple weeks ago, about 11:45 pm, 5, I tell you FIVE minutes before I was heading to bed Ziggy trotted downstairs and wanted to go outside. Now the yard is fenced, it has electric wires at the top and bottom, and though those are primarily to keep my dogs from escaping it seems to have done a good job keeping other critters out. Just as I was opening the screen door Ziggy started to go nuts and I was too slow with the realization that "something is out there" and couldn't quite grasp hold of his collar before he pushed himself outside, leapt of the deck and tore down to the bottom of the front yard.

In less than a minute he was back. And I could smell him before I opened the door. The poor little guy must have tried to bite its back end and he got the entire dose in his mouth. Saliva was foaming and following out of Ziggy's jaws as if he was rabid. I dragged him across the vinyl floor into the bathroom and stuffed him into the tub. He did not fight me. It took 5 minutes to locate the shower hose, the hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish washing liquid but then Ziggy got the treatment. It was the first time I'd ever had to wash anyone's mouth out with soap but it had to be done. He was constantly working his mouth trying to get out what couldn't be gotten out, I could tell it was in his nostrils, he was a mess. When we finished all he did was pace, following me around while I wiped the drool off the floor with the same de-skunking concoction.

Then I had a minor brainstorm and got out some raw burger and a can of tomato sauce and mixed it together and hand fed him. I figured if bathing a dog in tomato juice was the old stand-by solution (which I've heard doesn't work that well), then getting tomato into his mouth might help a little, better than on the outside anyway. He ate it. I do believe it did help. After I took my shower and went to bed I do think he finally was able to sleep. At least when I got up an hour later, 3 am he was laying on the rug in the hall.

I fed him more tomato burger in the morning and by the end of the day he was actually back to his old rambunctious self instead of the miserable, tail drooping, head hanging pup he had been. And you really couldn't smell hardly anything on his fur, that skunk really had fired directly into his mouth. But when Ziggy opened that mouth for the next few days, wow, it was nasty!