oh my word! This sounds AWFUL. (and yes I can STILL taste that skunk smell… so rank.)

I can’t imagine how we’d have survived the first leg of our trip if his smell hadn’t greatly improved. 🙂 As it is, if he gets wet it’s oh-so-hard to be in close quarters with him.

I wholeheartedly agree with your husband’s description of the smell, up close. In fact, I just edited my post to include his quote. 🙂

We own cats and don’t live on a farm, but my husband has an eye-opening dog and skunk story that I’ll share. Years ago when he used to go mountain biking on trails in the woods with a group of guys, one particular night (yes, they rode with headlamps at night sometimes), they discovered a skunk up ahead on the trail. I can’t remember if they saw him or smelled him or just the terrible results. One rider brought his faithful dog along for the ride and of course the dog began to run ahead after the skunk, ignoring the desperate pleas of his owner for him to stop.

Well, what happened next is exactly what you’d imagine. He met up and was cordially “greeted” by that skunk. What my husband will describe in excruciating detail a decade or more later is just how intense was the smell right at the source. He said it’s nothing like the familiar skunk smells we notice when walking or riding in a car and we pass by from afar. He said it was like a chemical reaction, and refers to the place of this unpleasant encounter as “ground zero” to this day.

So I’m sure this is close to what you were dealing with. I’m glad it all worked out and you were still able to go on your vacation. I’m also thankful in this case that my cats are house bound, even though they’d probably rather live and enjoy the outdoor delights of a country home or farm.