Missy the Dog vs. Skunky the Skunk

This happened in August, but I still want to share in case any of you ever need this information:

Missy (my pound puppy who is now 8 and 1/2 but still acts 1 and 1/2) got into a tussle with a skunk. I've kind of been waiting for this to happen, since I always see a skunk out in the neighborhood when I come home after dark, so really I should have been more prepared. [Now I am!]

Luckily, she is current on her rabies shot, because she got either bitten or scratched by the skunk on her cheek/lip. It's smallish and she's let me clean it with witch hazel and tea tree oil, so I'm hoping that it will just heal nicely and not get infected. [it did]

I got a nice recipe (below) to remove the smell from Missy, which seems to have worked. Sadly, I brought her into the house as soon as this happened (fearing an angry skunk was roaming the backyard, looking for revenge) and now the house reeks... I took out the rugs from the animals' room and Missy's bed is in the trash can. I don't know what else the smell is on. I still have some of the anti-smell solution, so I am going to try scrubbing the floor with that. Thank goodness Anastasia went to bed fairly quickly tonight, or I would have a screaming child on top of this! Small miracles... [I ended up needing to diffuse Purification throughout the house to get rid of the smell. It took a couple days.]

Dog loving friends--have hydrogen peroxide and baking soda on hand at all times "just in case". I'm so glad I just happened to have some the night this happened. Here's the recipe for de-skunking your dog:

Mix in a bucket:
1 pint hydrogen peroxide
1 small box baking soda
squirt of dish soap
gallon water

Do not cover the bucket! This will lead to an explosion, and you really don't need another mess to clean up at this point.

This solution will be good for about an hour. Pour it on your dog, avoiding the face area. Of course, Missy got skunked all over her face, so the smell was lingering there even after the de-skunking solution. I put some orange oil or citrus fresh (I can't remember what I had on hand at the time) on her face and neck, which greatly helped to neutralize the smell.

Hoping you don't need to use this information, but if you do... good luck!

**I discovered the next morning that Missy had killed the skunk. Skunky was curled up in the place where the tussle occured the night before, so I found a little comfort in the fact that it must have passed quickly. I also discovered that animal control will come out and remove a dead skunk from your property, thank goodness.