Skunk

Everything was fine until the skunk arrived.

It wasn’t, but when the dog got skunked, all other problems seemed so small.

We are selling our home, and in the process of living in a staged home our dog has been in the loving hands of my in laws. That’s where the attack happened. As sorry as I am for what they have gone through, an honest little part of me was “thank God it wasn’t at home.”

Yes, there is shame in that admittance.

This was a crash course in de-skunking for me, and hopefully a spot of help for you.

If you can, do NOT let the dog back into the house. This will probably be impossible as it’ll get past you before you can smell it. But, if on the offhand chance you can detect the skunking before the dog is in, it will go a lot easier. And cheaper. Much, much cheaper.

From now on we will assume your four legged friend, sprayed with that oil, has made it back into your home and has started to roll on the carpet, or jump on your bed. The first thing you will think is that you have a gas leak. You may even call the fire department only to have them tell you, “you have been skunked”. By now it is at least 20 minutes of dog trying to get the smell off of him and onto you.

You now have a serious problem. This is where luck comes into play. It turns out that lovely skunk oil has a lifespan in the glands where newer, fresher oil is not as potent as oil that has been “fermenting” for weeks. Guess which one we got?

So you’ve been skunked, and it’s in the house. It’s probably night, and you have a meeting first thing in the morning. If you take that dog to the vet they will most likely tell you to keep your dog outside, where you will wait, and your car will get skunked as well. Whatever you are wearing will get skunked. Whatever clothes are in your house will begin to pickup the smell. This is going to go from bad to worse. This is where paying attention comes into play.

Remove clothing from your home you will wear in public the next day or two from the house. Suites, jacket, shirt…everything. Your office mates will thank you.

Remove the filters from your furnace. These trap the stink oils.

When cleaning, wear clothes you’ll probably wind up throwing away.

Fresh air and air movement is your friend.

Do NOT strive for 100% stink free perfection. Ain’t going to happen, so give up on that dream.

There are a host of chemicals and cleaners, some home made, others very expensive. It is probably best to get the tools together before you need them, but seriously, who plans for a skunk?

Details on cleaners, making your own and buying, can be found here: https://wildlife.unl.edu/pdfs/removing-skunk-odor.pdf

We are two weeks into this adventure and it is still a battle. May this never come in handy for you.