skunked

On Wednesday Dewey got sprayed by a skunk. Luckily I was in class and missed all of the fun except for the bath. You might be wondering where was the scene of the crime. In the woods? By a pond? In our local park? All good guesses but not quite. Would you believe that Dewey got skunked right in front of our house in urban Somerville, MA--population 75,000; five miles from Boston; most residents per square foot in the entire state of Mass. Believe it. It happened. The next morning our shock was further busted by two different sources. A nice old woman in our neighborhood coffee house said the city is full of skunks and was quoted to say, "If you hear something and think it is a rat, it is probably a skunk." What? And Ella's babysitter said her dogs got sprayed all the time growing up around here. Really? The shock is over. Skunk Happens!
For those of you that continue to think that tomato juice is the trick but worry about actually cleaning a dog with something bright red and kind of goopy we've found a better way. A bath of 3% peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap did the trick. Now we just have to get Dewey to stop chasing "rats" in the front yard and we'll be in the clear.