Skunked Up: By Guest Writer Jon Accarrino

Unfortunately for us dog owners, our canine companions will probably get sprayed by a skunk at one point in their lives. Rural pets are much more likely to have a skunk encounter, but even city dogs who join you on weekend getaways or camping vacations might run find themselves downwind from a skunk's anal scent glands. And dogs aren't alone in this stinky honor. Cats, pigs, horses and other domesticated pets have all been skunked before. Earlier this week my dog Brandy had an encounter with a little white striped four-legged stink machine. My girlfriend Lauren, her mom Linda and I had just finished watching a movie after a late dinner. It was just past midnight and we were about to head upstairs to bed. Just before we went up, I asked Brandy if she needed to go "pee-pee." Brandy was sleeping next to us on the couch (She obviously didn't care for the movie). Brandy slowly stretched, yawned, wagged (all at the same time) and sleepily waddled over to the backdoor. That means "yes." So Brandy walked out the backdoor, down the porch stairs and squatted down to pee in the yard. About 5 seconds later, I saw a white blur run up to Brandy and then run away. Brandy immediately started wiping her face with her paw and then dropped to the ground and started rolling around in the grass. At this point I wasn't sure what had happened. Was it a Raccoon? Skunk? Giant squirrel? Brandy came running back to the porch whimpering. As she got closer I smelled the skunk. The poor dog got sprayed while she was in mid-pee. What a rude skunk. Imagine if someone sprayed you with fart spray while you were going to the bathroom? FIRST AID Ok. Skunk attack. Not exactly a life threatening crisis, but a crisis nonetheless. Your first concern should be your pet's physical condition. Look for blood. Check them over for scratches and bites and if you find any, go see a vet as soon as possible. Remember, skunks can carry rabies. Brandy's left eye was so tightly shut that I first thought that whatever attacked her might have scratched out her eye. Not a pretty thought. I gently forced open her eyelid to make sure her eye was still there and not scratched. Whew! No physical damage but the skunk sprayed the left side of her face including her eye. The skunk spray obviously stung so my girlfriend, Lauren, and I immediately started gently flushing the area around her eye with the garden hose. PEE-U: DEALING WITH THE SMELL Once you assess your pet's physical condition, the next step is to deal with the smell. We've all smelled a skunk before, but unless you've been up close, you may not know how intense a fresh spray can be. It's almost like a garlic-dosed piece of burnt rubber, enough to make your eye water. Act quickly. The longer you take to act, the longer the skunk smell will stay with your pet. Do you have a long hair dog? You might want to trim some of the affected areas. Getting rid of the excess fur will also make it easier with all the repeated pet bathing required to get rid of the smell. When you tell someone that your pet was sprayed by a skunk, they will probably suggest that you give your pet a tomato juice or vinegar bath. Bad idea. Chemically, tomato juice or vinegar doesn't remove or breakdown skunk anal scent gland secretions, all they do is mask the smell. And for heavens sake, please don't use variations of tomato juice, like ketchup or Clamato pasta sauce - your pet isn't a salad or pasta dish. Several companies make products that will help you remove (or reduce) skunk smell from your pets. Your local pet store should carry several brands for you to choose from. If you live in a heavily populated skunk area, you might want to keep a couple bottles of skunk odor remover at home just in case. Most of these "deskunking" products contain natural enzymes that will help breakdown the skunk secretions and reduce the smell on your pet. This should be your ultimate goal. Masking the skunk odor is a battle you won't win. And if left untreated, skunk odor can linger for weeks.

• Nature's Miracle

• Skunk-Off

Unfortunately Brandy got sprayed pretty late at night and all the nearby pet stores were closed. If you find yourself in this type of situation, you can find the following ingredients at your local 24-hour drug store and make a homemade deskunking remedy. You can thank Paul Krebaum, a chemist, for this little homemade recipe.

• 1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

• 1/4 cup of Baking Soda

• 1 teaspoons of common kitchen liquid dish soap

Just mix the ingredients together into a bucket and lather your pet up in the tub or backyard. The mixture will fizz. Don't combine the peroxide and baking soda in a bottle. They will explode a la Coke + Mentos. Use a bucket. Be sure to keep any skunk odor removal solutions, homemade or commercial, away from your pet's face and eyes. Use a washcloth if your pet was sprayed in the face. And only bathe the affected areas - Skunk spray is like oil and will spread. If you don't have access to a 24-hour drug store or a bottle of professional skunk odor remover, then multiple shampooing sessions will help lesson the blow. Take your pet into the shower with you and run luke warm water and shampoo over them a few times. This will also help lessen the potency of the skunk oil in case your pet tries to wipe their eyes. But simply shampooing your pet won't get rid of the skunk odor. You will still need to bathe your pet with a solution that will breakdown the skunk oil which is comprised of low molecular weight thiol compounds. Sorry, soap and water wont work. PROTECTING CLOTHING, FURNITURE, AUTOMOBILES, HOMES & YOURSELF When first attending to Brandy after the skunking, my girlfriend Lauren grabbed a clean dishcloth and tried to wipe away as much skunk oil as possible. That rag later went into the trash. Removing concentrated skunk oil from fabrics is next to impossible. Remember Brandy's first reaction after being sprayed was to wipe off the skunk oil and roll around everywhere. If Brandy was near a couch or an expensive Persian rug, she would have rolled on them to wipe off the skunk oil. So be sure to keep your skunky companion away from nice fabrics, clothing and furniture, etc. for a little while. We made Brandy a temporary bed out of old towels for the next 24 hours. She looked so depressed that I took a picture. Poor dog. :( If your pet got sprayed during an excursion via an automobile, then you are in a tricky situation (especially if the car isn't yours). Hopefully you have an old blanket in the car that you can use to protect the seats. The last thing you want is fresh skunk oil secretions on your upholstery. And don't forget to roll down the windows for the ride home. Ideally, you should wear rubber gloves before handling a sprayed pet. The skunk oil will stay on your hands... Trust me. My hands still have a slight skunky burnt rubber smell on them 3 days later. But Brandy's physical condition was my main concern at the time. My coworkers will just have to deal with my smelly hands for a few days. Unfortunately I've gotten used to it already. THE AFTERMATH Prepare yourself. For the next few months, whenever your pet gets wet, they will smell slightly skunky. Brandy's still a little stinky if you get real close, but we still love her. Skunk photo via.