Skunked…

Last night around 9 pm, while Marty and I were packing up and getting him ready for the last outdoor farmers market the next morning, poor Nelly got skunked.

I felt something was wrong and I called her to come. I saw her in the soft light with her head down. She began walking towards me.

A moment after I called her we got a strong smell of a skunk. Nelly loves every creature and knows no meanness but only love.

I walked closer to her and saw she was foaming at the mouth. I didn’t panic.

When she stepped into the light of our back porch lights, her face was covered in a yellow spray and her eyes were closed.

I called out to Marty, and he immediately started taking off his clothes and got her into the outdoor shower, which he still uses daily. (Not me!)

This is our first time dealing with a skunk so my first thought was to grab tomato juice or in my case bottles of purée which I gave to Marty.

Crouching down in the shower, warm water cascading on her with the handheld sprayer, he rubbed the tomato purée into her fur, rinsed her, and repeated.

Next, I grabbed her doggie soap and he lathered her up and continued to rinse her. She was such a good girl and trusted him completely.

I grabbed big fluffy towels for each of them. Nelly shook out most of the water and we wrapped her in the towel and brought her inside.

She took the spray of the skunk directly to her face. Her eyes were stinging and she was in pain. This was heartbreaking to say the least.

Most of her fur smelled like her doggie shampoo, except her face, which had a sharp smell unlike anything we’d smelled before.

I texted Martin and he said to use hydrogen peroxide. I quickly looked up what to do and made a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap.

I carefully applied the mixture to her face and wiped it off several times while Marty held her wrapped in a fresh towel.

The smell was getting better but still had a long way to go. I applied the solution one more time, and we decided that was enough for the night.

Marty slept downstairs with Nelly holding her tight. She was exhausted, confused and scared. I slept upstairs since and missed sleeping with the two of them very much.

This morning, Marty decided to go to the Troy market despite the skunky smell we both thought we had.

When he went out to his vehicle this morning to continue packing up, the smell of skunk was inside since the lift gate and doors were open when the skunk sprayed. Ugh.

After he set up at the market, he asked someone if he smelled like skunk, and they said no.

Poor Nelly’s little smushy face still smells but not as bad as last night. I plan to reapply the solution this afternoon.

I’ve been sitting with Nelly after I fed her breakfast. She seemed like her normal self, but I could tell her eyes were still irritated.

What a traumatic event for a pup that doesn’t know pain, but we remained calm and, most importantly, made her feel safe with us.

I’m sure there were things we could have done differently, but we acted with our nurturing instincts and the love we have for her.

Damn…it’s always something.

*** Update: the inside of my truck smelled like skunk too. The scent lingered on me which Kathleen smelled when she first arrived.

I left the doors open to hopefully get that smell out.