Skunkworks

[klwilliams]

When Chaz and I got home last night, I opened the car door and smelled a distinctive odor.

"Smell that?" I asked. It was a faint odor of skunk, close enough to be aware of but not very close.

"Yes...what is it?"

"Skunk. Can't you tell?"

"Oh. I always thought skunk would smell...stronger."

Chaz had never smelled skunk before, because England doesn't have them. Or raccoons, apparently, and possibly possums (I haven't checked). How weird.

Good thing we don't let the boys out, or we'd have to really stock up on tomato juice. (Chaz didn't know tomato juice was crucial for getting rid of skunk smell, either. The things we pick up in skunk country.)

Comments

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

As I age, I have noticed that the smell of skunk has gotten far less irritating. I suspect my own nose, rather than some odd change in skunks. As a kid, I used to hate it; now it's mostly neutral.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

No, no possums or raccoons here. Badgers and foxes, mainly.

[maryosmanski.livejournal.com]

I've been with British friends the first time they encountered a whiff of skunk and had no idea what the smell was.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Just the smell of the animal can smell like the beginning of an electrical fire. This made our first summer nights in the new house a bit alarming until we figured out what it was.

[sueo2.livejournal.com]

Apparently there is a solution that works better than the juice as it neutralizes the enzymes. Here is the formula I have found.


Formula for deodorizing a skunk-sprayed pet:

1 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. liquid soap.

Bathe the affected areas with the mixture. The bath should be followed by a tap water rinse. This mixture will not affect the hair coat. (This mixture was used on some traveling dogs and the owner was still able to travel with them in the car after applying this treatment.)

[frandowdsofa.livejournal.com]

Nor do we have chipmunks, or those weird little things you call badgers.

I remember one long hot summer when a skunk must have died in the bushes by our freeway exit in Milwaukee. That's a gift that keeps on giving.

[kahnegabs.livejournal.com]

Tell him that if he gets close enough, the skunk smell will be a LOT stronger.