Classical Values :: My rational aromaphobia

October 16, 2009

My rational aromaphobia

This post touched on one of my worst fears:

A skunk in Oklahoma, USA, was rescued by a good samaritan and a 'skunk whisperer' after it got its head stuck in a jar of peanut butter.

Teresa Vick spotted the stuck skunk while delivering papers and called for help.

Ned Bruha, 'Skunk Whisperer', used a small amount of chloroform to slow the animal down and trap him, before he was able to pull the jar off without the skunk being injured or spraying its foul scent.

Via Ann Althouse who expresses amazement over human sympathy for animals, and asks,

Would you help a skunk with a jar of peanut butter stuck on its head?

Well, the first thing I would do would be whatever was necessary to avoid getting sprayed, because getting hit with that stuff will ruin your life for weeks. This is not to say I'm unsympathetic to the plight of greedy, peanut-butter-loving skunks, but I'm more sympathetic to the possible plight of me.

My fear of getting sprayed is entirely rational, because skunks are a very real problem in this neighborhood, and they have been in my backyard repeatedly. And because I have an inquisitive pit bull who obsessively patrols every square inch of a small backyard at all hours of the day and night, my fear of being skunked extends to my dog. Because, if Coco gets sprayed, it's a huge -- and I do mean huge -- hassle: removing the odor is problematic, and the house is basically ruined for weeks. If the dog is not scrubbed down immediately with the right chemicals, the scent can linger for up to 2 years. Plus, dogs are so scent-oriented that the experience can cause serious personality changes, at least while it lingers. Some friends had a very sweet dog who got sprayed, and while they did their best to get it out, she was nauseating to be around, had to be kept outdoors, and that dog obviously knew there was something wrong with her, as people who used to love her now rejected her. I have never seen such a transformation in a dog from nice and happy to dejected, miserable, and downright sour. Plus, skunks are nocturnal, so this is the sort of thing which would most likely occur at night when you're least prepared.

Even contemplating this is unpleasant. More unsettling than Coco getting sprayed is her penchant for bringing animals into the house. Amusing when it was a possum. But a skunk? Perish the thought!

As to shooting the skunk (which one of Ann Althouse's commenters recommended), pest control experts say it's a bad idea because "it often results in release of their odor." Plus, discharging a firearm within city limits often results in the arrest of the owner.

I give skunks wide berth. If I saw one with its head stuck in a peanut butter jar, I'd let it stay stuck, and make sure Coco stayed the hell inside.

posted by Eric on 10.16.09 at 11:03 AM

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://classicalvalues.com/cgi-bin/pings.cgi/8911

Comments

How exactly *do* you remove the smell? I've never known, and I've heard there are all kinds of remedies. Does the tomato juice thing really work?

Lynne · October 16, 2009 11:47 AM

Skunk Mix:

1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
2 Tbsp liquid dish soap (not dishwasher detergent)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and wash dog with mixture while it's still foaming. You can't make this in advance or store it because the instant the baking soda hits the peroxide, it foams like crazy.

Don't make the mistake I did years ago of not rinsing the dog after deskunking. My black Lab was a nice chestnut brown for several months after the skunk episode courtesy of the bleaching effect of peroxide.

Captain Ned · October 16, 2009 12:16 PM

I think I heard that dogs are the only animals who will get sprayed more than once.
I had a black lab mut (smartest dog I've ever seen) who, one time, was coming when I called him and I could see he was happy as happy could be when he was around 20 feet away.
I mean really happy. I said, "Why are you so happy?"
His face was soaking wet so I figured he had been swimming.
When he got really close for some reason I stopped him from coming in the house, I put my hand up against his face and it squished.
That's when I realized why he was so happy, he smelled horrible. He must have been shot right in the face and he enjoyed it!

Tomato juice and then soap got rid of the smell on him, my hand smelled like skunk for a couple days.

So be careful, I don't know if Coco likes bad smells, but.....
My current dog has enough fur that I could knit a new dog each week from what he leaves around the house, so I really hope he never meets a skunk, he likes bad smells too.

My father had a skunk as a pet when he was young, the stink glands were removed of course.
He said it was better than a pet cat.

Veeshir · October 16, 2009 12:28 PM

Help is on the way!

While Charles Darwin is one of my philosophical and spiritual heroes, like you he may have been overreacting when he said wrote of skunk spray in The Voyage of the Beagle:

"Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless."

In fact, a home brew of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dishwashing soap liberally applied to the offending ears, eyes, nose, throat or whatever does the trick.

Check out my blogpost on the subject regarding my cat Sweet Tiny Pea's unfortunate encounter last year:

http://sisu.typepad.com/sisu/2008/03/whatever-is-onc.html

Sissy Willis · October 16, 2009 04:31 PM

Re: the recipe posted by Lynne & Veeshir - the dish soap component should be something like Dawn, with grease-cutting capabilities. That said, it's very effective, but becomes somewhat less so the longer you wait. If Rover gets skunked at night and you wait till morning, you may have to wash & rinse 2 or 3 times.

I'm out in the sticks & have a ready supply of all the ingredients. I also have a .22 rifle with lots of ammo, and no metropolitan statutes to keep me from plinking away. Death to skunks! Ditto to porcupines...

Sep · October 16, 2009 06:46 PM

I think wanton killing is just wrong.

Yes, I would help the skunk.

Larry Sheldon · October 16, 2009 06:49 PM

"Yes, I would help the skunk."

So would I. Into the afterlife.

Sep · October 16, 2009 07:33 PM

Yes I have found Tomato juice and vinegar mixture works best, as for killing skunks I disagree but understand I am a life long hunter I just never thought of skunks nor porcupines as pests rats and prairie dogs yes anyway growing up in southern Illinois myself, grandfather and father used to hunt squirrel (yes they are good to eat) and being a young precocious kid with a rifle (22) I shot a skunk just because it was there, now understand one of the rules drilled into us kids was if you kill it you eat it, well I have to tell ya skunk not only stinks but skinning, cooking and eating one is no picnic either!

Oldcrow · October 16, 2009 08:53 PM