Skunked!

When I came home from a quick errand this afternoon the dogs came running up as I opened the gate. I told them to jump into the car-which they did, and that is when I realized that Nutmeg (the older lighter-brown dog) had just had a close encounter with a skunk. PEEEYUUUU!

I made them stay outside while I gathered the fortitude and the tools to deal with it. I found a recipe online for a dog bath concoction to remove skunk odor:
1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tsp dish soap

So, I went back out to get Nutmeg. She was curled up by the door, looking a bit nauseous (as I was feeling) and even Cocoa was keeping a good distance away from her. Nut hates baths, but she got into the tub with no problem. I only had enough hydrogen peroxide to make half a recipe, but I poured the mix all over her and waited about 10 minutes, as I worked on gettng out some of the burrs she also acquired during this escapade. The website also recommended using a vinegar rinse. All I could find in our cupboard was rice wine vinegar, so I used that.

I can't tell if there is significant improvement or if my sense of smell is just kind of numb now. Luckily for my Global Action group, they came for dinner here last night intead of tonight!

Tonight Nutmeg will NOT be sleeping in my bedroom.

On another note, I let the salamander go today. He seemed pretty happy to be free and skedaddled away pretty quickly , for a salamander, before I changed my mind.