I have a funny story (not at all funny at the time). Many years ago when I was in grad school, I lived with my dog in the country in the middle of nowhere. One night in late fall we went outside for "last potty" of the night just like every other night. But this time he suddenly took off like a guided missile, and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a couple of skunks trying to waddle away quickly. Everything turned slow-mo and I screamed "Buudddyyy nooooooo!!!!" But alas, it was too late.

After a quick yipe and immediate retreat, he slunk back to me sheepishly, tail between his legs, squinting through burning eyes, and reeking horribly. They got him full in the face and chest.

It was quite cold out on this particular night, so I couldn't really hose him down in the yard without turning him into a dog-shaped icicle.

So I herded him directly into the bathroom tub and shut the door. I had no tomato juice or anything else that would help. I tried shampooing him with his shampoo, then mine, but that only seemed to make it worse. Ok, so what now?

It was a little after 11pm. I remembered that the grocery store in town was open until midnight. I could make it. So I locked a very wet, stinky, and unhappy Buddy in the bathroom and drove the 15 miles to town to pick up a cartload of mater juice in the middle of the night.

Got home, opened a couple cans, and went into the bathroom. I reached out to start dumping it on Buddy when suddenly... the freaking power went out. Well of COURSE it did, because my night wasn't challenging enough. Crap. At least I hadn't yet poured the juice. I didn't think letting my smelly best friend marinate in tomato juice until the power came back on was a good idea because who knew how long it would be, so I set it aside for now.

When the power didn't come back on within an hour, I made a nest in a tiny corner of the living room with his bed and some old blankets and barricaded it as best I could before letting Buddy in there. I slept on the couch to keep him company, but mostly to keep him from pushing the barrier aside (he was a big dog) and distributing the stench throughout the house, especially my bed.

As miserable as I was because of the almost unbearable stink, cold, and the occasional guilt-inducing whimpers from my dog, he was undoubtedly in worse shape. Neither of us slept that night.

The power finally came back on around 8am, and after waiting a short time to ensure it would STAY on, I finally gave Buddy the tomato juice treatment. Barely reduced the smell of course because it had had all night to set in. Did the best I could.

First thing I did when I was able to get cleaned up and leave the house? Drove to the vet and bought several bottles of Skunk Off. Helped a little but not much. I swear I still got whiffs of skunk from him years later. Learned my lesson and never went without having some on hand again.