Hurricane Sandy Stinks!

We had a little snow last week which was a wake-up call that the yard needed to be readied for winter. Since it was a lovely day today in the mid 60’s I decided to knock that off the to-do list. While pulling spent flowers in the front bed I was rudely reminded of my Hurricane Sandy story. I’m sure you’ve heard all manner of stories about how long the electricity was out and how much damage was done. I’m also sure you haven’t heard a story quite like mine…

We were all ready for the storm and it was fast approaching. The governor had issued a “no driving after 3pm unless you’re a first responder” edict. Hubby (a firefighter) was at the station waiting for the onslaught of calls. Moosette, the dog and I were at home and ready. About 2:30 it started getting very blustery outside so I decided it was time to take the dog out for one last potty trip. I decided to go with him and check to make sure we hadn’t missed any potential missiles in the yard. While he was milling around trying to find the perfect spot I saw movement out of the corner of my eye…a skunk was running across the lawn headed for the house. Oh crap, where’s the dog? He saw the skunk and decided to go and introduce himself. He loves to play with the neighborhood cats and probably figured this was one he hadn’t met yet. He is a retired police dog and is very well trained to obey his partner’s commands above and beyond anything he really wants to do. I am not that partner – he never listens to me unless he feels like it. He clearly did not feel like it. He went in for a closer look while I am yelling all manner of commands (some not fit to print and probably not part of his training…) trying to be heard above the howl of the storm. I was not successful and now had a very stinky dog and a hurricane that was just about here…what to do…

I made a frantic call to hubby to run to town and buy up all the tomato juice he could find. Someone at the firehouse told him to go to the pet store in town and see if he could get some Skunk-Off. He arrived at the pet store just as the owner was leaving then came home with the container of (hopefully) miracle medicine. By the time hubby arrived home the dog and I were both pretty stinky. The dog from the skunk and me from waiting in the garage with the dog. The garage was very odorous as well. By now the hurricane was getting very very close and it was REALLY windy. I’m sure the neighbors were wondering why we chose such a time to give the dog a bath in the driveway! One upside to the whole fiasco was being able to air out the garage in about 2 minutes flat by simply opening the doors.

All in all I must say, Skunk Off is a wonderful product. It’s easy to apply even in a hurricane and it works wonders. It didn’t take all the smell away. I don’t think there is any product that will completely remove that awful smell. At least the dog and I were allowed back into the house before the trees started coming down.

So today I was pulling up spent flowers and got a major whiff of what the skunk left behind last week. Yuck! Thankfully we have not seen the skunk since.

I would like to thank all of our customers who patiently waited for days after the storm until power returned so I could send their packages. My heart also goes out to all the folks in New York and New Jersey who have so much more to deal with than stinky skunks.