Day: May 30, 2011

Turkey Tracks:  May 30, 2011

Skunk Recipe!

We don’t usually have skunks around the house.

No No Penny does not allow them under any circumstances.

If we do get a whiff of skunk, it’s always been in the spring.  That’s when I thank my lucky stars neither of our girls has taken on a skunk and when I check to see if I have skunk-bath ingredients on hand.  It’s a pretty simple mixture, and Mainers swear it is better than tomato juice:  1 quart of hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup of baking soda, and 1 Tablespoon of dishwashing detergent.  Wash until the odor goes away.

So, the other night Miss Reynolds Georgia, aka The Beauty Queen, NEEDED to go out in the middle of the night.  She signals this need by crawling out from the covers, sitting on the end of the bed, and harumping in a low throaty growl–like dripping water–until you get up and put her out.  Which I did finally.  She takes her sweet time, too, and strolls about the yard smelling things in the moonlight.  I know she does because she’s so white that she stands out like a neon light.

Once back in bed, I began to realize that skunk odor was flooding through the windows at my head, though the bedroom is on the second floor.  It was so strong that I seriously wondered if Rey Rey had been skunked and in my sleepiness, I had not picked it up.  I hauled her our from beneath the covers to smell her.  No, she was good.

It was so strong that I worried I would smell like it the next day since my understanding is that “skunk” is an oil that disperses into the air.  Or, the room would.  For days!  Gradually it faded, and I fell back to sleep.

Tomorrow:  hydrogen peroxide.   Ours is a year out of date now.

And, thanks, girls, for being too smart to get skunked!

The girls are 8 and 9 years old now, and it’s hard to believe.  Here’s a pic taken last summer in June:

No  No Penny, on the left, is a Katrina rescue–when she was about 2 years old.  She is the kind of Rat Dog I grew up with–a savvy and relentless hunger, a huge protector of her people and her property, a sunny and funny personality.  She’s a bit heavier this year because she crawls under or into the chicken house–though she is terrified of the rooster–and eats whatever meat and milk they have not finished yet.

Rey Rey is on the right and has a lot of Chihuahua in her line–something breeders are doing to perfectly good rat dogs.  She is my faithful shadow throughout the day and night–except when the black flies are biting.

Both are smarter than you can believe and have huge vocabularies.    Except for Penny’s early life, they’ve never had any dry dog food.