Dog....what have you been getting into?

I saw this wrapper hanging out of the mascot's jowls

can't say that I blame her,

chocolate is good.

Don't Skunks Hibernate?

They should! But, sadly, they don't and it happened.
Again.
The Mascot got sprayed by a skunk.

It all went down Monday night. The CFO and I were just turning the tele off and getting ready to head to bed when the Mascot came downstairs and wanted to go out. She started to bark at something and after peering out the window and not seeing anything, I LET HER OUT. She started to chase a cat (because it couldn't be a skunk, don't skunks hibernate?). When I saw her stop dead in her tracks, I knew it wasn't a cat. Now let me just take a minute and fully explain our predicament:

1. The mascot is an inside pet and she is old. She is used to a cushy lifestyle of warmth; she won't survive the winter's night outside.
2. She smells so bad it burns the nose and makes the eyes water.
3. It's a quarter to MIDNIGHT.
4. It is starting to snow.
5. If I bathe her in the house, the house will stink like skunk forever.

The CFO pulled his car out of the garage and I slathered her with my newest best friend: baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dawn dish soap. (I got the honors since it was my fault--I LET HER OUT.) I scrubbed her with this concoction for 15 minutes then hosed her off and dried her with a ragged old towel. AND, she smelled fine. She spent the night in the mudroom and all is well. Has she learned her lesson? Not sure. But I have.

I didn't get a picture of her coated with the baking soda (that would have been a great picture of her humiliation). I was too mad. Actually, seething is a better word than mad. But, here she is:

all clean

The Company Mascot

Like most dogs, our company's mascot has equally served us well and been a bit of a liability. She came to us as a puppy and one day escaped her kennel and chewed on furniture and chewed a hole into the carpet. Then there was the time she knew someone was trying to break into our house and she was my protector until the police arrived. She has bypassed electric fences and dug holes in my flower garden. She has gladly cleaned spills from my kitchen floor and the occasional messy child. She has shed every spring and summer and fall for 11 years. She poops where she wants, never in the same place unless it is in the neighbor's yard. She tussled with a skunk last summer and lost. BTW--3 baths with baking soda mixed with dawn dish soap finally did the trick. She is getting old and has bumps on her skin and a white muzzle. She sleeps most of the day UNTIL you say the word "cat" then she jumps to attention and acts like a spunky 2 year-old. She has been tolerant of all the little children in her life with only giant licks as her retaliation.

(O has adored her from the very beginning. You can see the tolerance on the Mascot's face.)
O wanted a picture taken with the Mascot. Every time O got close the Mascot wanted to "kiss" her.

So, cheers to the Mascot. You have served us well. But, please no more skunks and try to poop in your own yard.