About 5 seconds into her pee, I see 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. What was the blur? Was it a raccoon? Skunk? Giant squirrel? Brandy came running back to the porch whimpering. As she got closer I smelled skunk and knew. The poor dog got sprayed while she was in mid-pee. Poor dog. Imagine if someone sprayed you with fart spray while you were peeing.

So what do you do after a pet gets sprayed by a skunk? Does tomato juice really work? Can over the counter products like Skunk Off and Nature's Miracle's Skunk Odor Remover save the day? Apparently I was about to find out.

Requirements:

• A pet that's covered in skunk spray
• A solution for removing skunk odor
• water
• patience
• nose plug (optional)

FIRST AID

Ok. Skunk attack. Not exactly a life threatening crisis, but a crisis nonetheless. Your first concern should be your pets 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 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 we immediately started gently flushing the area around her eye with the garden hose.

PEE-U: DEALING WITH THE SMELL

Once you assess your pets 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, then you may not know how intense a fresh spray can smell. It's almost like a garlic dosed piece of burnt rubber. It's strong enough to make your eyes water. Act quickly. The longer you take to act, the longer the skunk smell will stay with your pet.

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 speaking, tomato juice or vinegar don't do anything to 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, like the woods, you might want to keep a couple bottles of skunk odor remover in the house. 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. Yuck.

• Nature's Miracle http://tinyurl.com/skunkodor
• Skunk-Off (Shampoo or Spray) http://tinyurl.com/skunkoff

Skunk Off and Nature's Miracle's Skunk Odor Remover are both amazing products. After the Brandy's first Skunk Odor Remover session, she smelled 100 times better. The directions say to combine the solution with a little water and gently shampoo your pet. Then let your pet dry and repeat. Luckily the day after she got sprayed was nice and sunny. Brandy and I were able to play fetch in between shampooing sessions in the backyard. Fun for her, but I had to take the day off from work to do all the shampooing.

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 temporary 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 up your pet. The mixture will fizz. Don't combine the peroxide and baking soda in a bottle. It 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 wash cloth if you pet was sprayed in the face. And only bathe the affected areas. Skunk spray is like an 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. Run luke warm water and shampoo them a few times. This will also help lessen the potency of the skunk oil. But simply shampooing your pet wont 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 just wont work.

PROTECTING CLOTHING, FURNITURE, AUTOMOBILES, HOMES & YOURSELF

When first attending to Brandy after the skunking, we 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... at least for a little while.

We made Brandy a temporary bed out of old towels for the next 24 hours and let her spend most of the day outside on the porch. She looked so depressed that I took a couple pictures. 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 car 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 had a slight skunky burnt rubber smell on them 3 days later. But after Brandy got attacked, her physical condition was my main concern at the time. I didn't even bother with gloves. My coworkers just had to deal with my smelly rubber hands for a few days.

THE AFTERMATH

Prepare yourself. For the next few months, whenever your pet gets wet, they will smell slightly skunky. Brandy was still a little stinky 3 months later, but only if you got real close for a whiff. Stink or no stink, I still love her.

This item is available for purchase from Amazon.com Since 1981 Nature’s Miracle has continued to develop innovative products for use with pets. We have expanded beyond our original Stain & Odor formula, branching out to training aids, cat litter and other products. For more information, check out: http://www.naturemakesitwork.com Rating: Requirements: A smelly pet Manufacturer: Nature's Miracle