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My Owners Filed Their Taxes But I’m the One That Got Otter-ded
Dateline, 11:30 Saturday evening, Georgian Bay. Photon is out on the darkened beach for a quick pee before bed, Peter at the base of the steps of the deck. As Photon starts her return, a sleek black blur darts across the beach, making a break for its home in the far rocks. Photon, being a herding dog, immediately swerves and accelerates to intercept, heading into the darkness. Silence. Peter calls Photon two or three times. Then back into the light slinks Photon, slower and decidedly less chipper, smacking her lips as she starts to foam at the mouth…and smelly.
I knew she’d been hit, and I immediately assumed skunk, but it wasn’t long before I was started to doubt it. A skunk had hit our the side of our house a few years ago and the immediate drift from that hit me like a truck, stinging my eyes and lungs from a room away. The smell on Photon wasn’t “skunk classic” (it was more like pure burnt rubber), and Photon was still standing after getting blasted in the mouth.
Laura and my parents and I all went into high gear. Laura got the deskunking recipe—not tomato juice!—and I did my best to scrub her down, though our mix didn’t have much hydrogen peroxide, and it was old to boot. Luckily, it wasn’t critical, as the smell wasn’t nearly as bad as a skunk. It dissipated quickly outside (though it did linger in parts of the cottage for a while).
As to what it was, we have some river otters living in the rocks near our beach, and there isn’t much doubt that it was one of them. They’re in the Mustelid family (weasels, ferrets, wolverines, minks, badgers, etc.) and all of that family, except for sea otters (I have learned in the past 24 hours), have scent glands. River otters only use them in situations of anger or fear. And they’re nocturnal. Proximity, means and motive. Case closed.
It made for a quieter dog for the rest of the weekend, though I don’t think Photon learned any big life lessons. But for us, it was a big reminder to use a leash at night, and stock up on the H2O2 for next time.
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Jude says:
May 20, 2008 at 8:40 am (UTC 0)
Well I beat you by 30 minutes.
I went to let in the cat at 11pm on Friday only to find it running around the backyard like a chicken with its head cut off.
I called him and he came running his eyes were shut tight and his mouth frothing. One sniff and you knew what had happened.
I took poor Shadow up to the bathroom immediately and put him in the tub rinsed off his face as quickly as I could.
It required two rinses before he could open his eyes.
Did not have the recipe for deskunking at the time, (got that from the vet the next morning) so I spent the night with watery eyes and a damp cat.
Have been using the “get the smoke out of your house” recipe – white bread soaked in vinegar all around the house, to help with the skunk smell in the house.
If you know a better way to get it out – PLEASE ADVISE.
Ahhh spring.
Jude
Debbie says:
May 20, 2008 at 9:39 am (UTC 0)
Poor Photon! So the tomato juice solution doesn’t work? Or is it just not as effective as H2O2?
Peter says:
May 20, 2008 at 10:00 am (UTC 0)
From what I’ve read, tomato juice doesn’t do anything chemically, it only introduces a new smell. Since the person introducing the tomato juice into the situation already has a nose full of the skunk smell, that particular scent starts to fatigue and they only smell the tomato juice. But anyone new to the situation smells tomato juice AND skunk.
How the H2O2 mix works is described in Question 3 on chemist Paul Krebaum’s page. Basically, the soap detaches the oil from the hair and skin, the baking soda raises the pH, so that the peroxide can attack the thiol molecules that make the skunky smell.
As for Judith, who’s much worse off than us…the sites recommend bleach a lot, but not on synthetics, of course. If you can find the sources of the smell, you can use bleach or the H2O2 compound on them. Good luck!
Jude says:
May 20, 2008 at 11:55 am (UTC 0)
Bleach is not an option as I have a house of carpet. (oh joy)
Will coat with baking soda and hopefully that will absorb the problem.
And a big YES that receipe works! The vet said they found it better than the skunk shampoo they have. (which they were sold out of – In fact 3 vet offices were sold out – They say it is a bad year for skunks or should I say for pet owners)
Glad Photon was good for the car ride home!