Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

 

I was still coming to my senses as I walked down the stairs a little after 4:30 a.m. Friday.

My husband leaves for work at 5 a.m., and I use him as an alarm clock half the week to allow me a little time to myself and to get some extra things done around the house in peace and quiet before my son wakes up for the day.

As I was getting myself some water, I heard my dog, Sparky, who my husband let out to use the bathroom in the backyard, begin to bark.

“Oh no, it’s not even 5 o’clock, and the dog is barking like crazy,” I thought to myself, fearing he would wake up the neighbors and we’d get reported for being a nuisance. I wondered what he was barking at, hoping it was a squirrel or rabbit — or at worst, a deer. After all, we’ve had deer wander through our neighborhood before.

I called out to my husband to call Sparky back in the house, and a short time later, Sparky came trotting through the door, followed by a strong, unmistakable stench.

We quickly realized what Sparky was barking at, and we weren’t pleased. You can bet I was awake after that.

My husband picked up Sparky, who didn’t seem phased by what had just happened, and we looked at each other, laughed and almost at the same time said, “What do we do now?”

We’re not sure whether the skunk was in our yard or one of the neighbors’ yards, but Sparky definitely had been sprayed.

Knowing I would likely be the one who would have to take care of the situation since my husband had to leave for work a few minutes later, I reached out on social media with a plea for help of tried and true methods for de-skunking our little chihuahua.

I started a diffuser with some room-purifying essential oils and set out to rid Sparky of his skunky smell with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap.

To my surprise, the combination worked wonders.

When I came home for lunch, the house only had a slight smell. I started the diffuser again, and by the time I came home at the end of the day, the smell was completely gone.

I gave Sparky another bath for good measure, and believe it or not, I haven’t smelled that skunky smell since.

Wow, we really dodged a bullet with how bad that could have been. I’ve heard horror stories about people who have been in similar situations, except their outcome didn’t turn out so well.

I’ve concluded Sparky must have just been on the edge of the spray — either that or that concoction really worked. Regardless, I’m glad that experience was short-lived.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.