The incident of the skunk in the daytime

Is it really a surprise that Bullet managed to get sprayed by a skunk?  If you're an avid reader of our blog, I'm sure you (just as we) were anticipating it...and maybe a little surprised it hadn't happened sooner? 

Brandon woke up early for work (5a) and let Bullet out while he was getting ready for work.  Around 5:15a, when he went to let him back in, he said he could smell skunk the minute he got in the sunroom.  So he lets Bullet in the house and couldn't tell if the skunk had just sprayed outside (and that was where the smell was coming from) or if it was Bullet who smelled like skunk.  So what does Brandon do?  He walks Bullet through the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, the hallway, and into our bedroom.  Says to (a sleeping) me, "Can you smell Bullet and tell me if he smells like skunk?  I can only smell skunk everywhere." ...um, good morning.

I got close to Bullet and it was definitely coming from him, so we trekked him back outside and I went back to sleep on the couch while B left for work.  Bullet was leashed-up outside for the whole day...which means since our dog is the biggest baby of all time, continued barking and crying basically 24hrs because he wants to be whereever we are.  annoying...sorry neighbors.  It was a long and stressful day, but thankfully Tasha was visiting that day, so she was patient with setting up the canopy outside near enough Bullet to keep him from barking at every living thing outside, but not near enough for him to get skunk all over us. 

Despite the mess of a day it created, it did allow me to feel guilt-free for leaving him outside while I vacuumed the entire basement and got the kitchen cleaned.  Of course, I had to burn incense and candles all day to get the skunk out of the house from the Brandon/Bullet parade that morning.  B got home later that afternoon and brought two HUGE tomato paste cans with him.  We figured that was probably the least invasive attempt.  While he was being washed, B discovered that Bully was really only sprayed on the side of his face and one of his front legs.  Thank goodness, the tomato paste worked and Bullet was welcomed back into our house that evening!

We received lots of advice on how to get the smell of skunk out of our dog's fur...in case you were wondering, some of the suggestions were:

a) vinegar & baking soda

b) de-skunk shampoo from the pet store

c) womens' feminine hygiene douche

d) hydrogen peroxide+baking soda

e) dawn dishwashing soap+hydrogen peroxide+baking soda

f) tomato paste/juice