From the Porch
Trouble is skunked
Dwight Otwell

My dog Trouble is in big trouble.

The yellow lab took our other dog, Zeppelin, and a neighbor's dog and stayed out all night, doing who knows what.

The party dogs slunk in the next day, looking guilty. Zeppelin was covered from head to tail in dried mud. A pat on her back brought a dust cloud streaming from her back.

Trouble, on the other hand, looked fairly clean. He seems to disdain dirt and water. While Zeppelin has never seen a water hole she didn't like, Trouble runs for shelter when it begins to sprinkle rain.

But there was something else wrong with Trouble. He stunk like a skunk. Our neighbor, Mrs. Morgan, said her dog came home just after our dogs decided to present themselves. Her dog had also been sprayed by a skunk. She said she is grounding her dog.

I had a good talk with Trouble and Zeppelin. They paid attention to what I was saying but I don't know if it sunk in.

I gave Zeppelin a bath but, with Trouble's disdain for water, a bath is out of the question. I rubbed baking soda on Trouble and later sprayed him with something that is supposed to deodorize dogs. It has a vanilla smell. Now, Trouble smells like vanilla skunk. Susan said someone told her that rubbing tomato all over someone sprayed by a skunk will eliminate the odor. We may try that. But Trouble will probably then have a very distinct skunk/vanilla/tomato odor.

am thinking about not allowing Trouble and

I am thinking about not allowing Trouble and Zeppelin to attend the yearly "Canine Capers" - similar to a high school prom.

At the "Canine Capers" dogs from the area gather during the full moon in October and howl for hours. Since the event is a couple of miles from my house, I wasn't concerned.

The dogs have stayed close to home for the past week, since their all night debauchery. The skunk smell is gradually becoming fainter. But it is still there and is a reminder that dogs, like children, sometimes take the wrong path where there is no telling what type of skunk they may meet.