skunked, 6.12.24

i let bagel out around 12:10am this morning. as soon as he got out, he began chasing an animal. there are a lot of rabbits in the backyard, so i didn’t make anything of it. that is until he kept chasing the animal to the top of the yard. it was strange because he immediately stopped chasing and ran back down. as he passed the garden, he stopped to pee, but i noticed he kept trying to spit something up. my first thought was it wasn’t a bunny and that he got bit by a groundhog. he kept licking his lips and as he ran past me into the house, i smelled it on him. he tried to rub his face on some blankets. i got him out on the deck and that’s when i realized a skunk had sprayed him in his mouth. my mom woke up to check on us. the smell was so pungent. i called the 24/7 vet and they gave me a mixture to bathe bagel with. it was hydrogen peroxide, dawn dish soap, and baking soda. we quickly made that and bathed bagel. it helped a little, but the smell was so crazy. we ended up (trying) to sleep in the basement, but i kept waking up because the smell lingered. i ended up taking the day off today because i didn’t want the lab to go through it with me smelling how i was smelling and i needed to help my mom get the scent out the house. i ended up bathing bagel again, except this time with a deskunking shampoo. it worked for the most part, but bagel’s face still smells like skunk. he seems to be in good spirits otherwise. the plan was to hit the park afterwards so he could dry off even more, but when we went to ipswich, it began to rain lol. we still got our usual 2 rounds in. i came back to the house and though the aroma of skunk is still in the air, it’s definitely getting better.

that, or i’m getting used to it.

which i hope isn’t the case, smh.

-ratha, 6:11pm, 6.12.24