What's that smell?

Kimball went and got herself skunked last week.  All I heard was Andy shreiking, "KIMBALL...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!" in the backyard, right around dusk, and when I went outside to see what was happening, it was more than obvious.  My nose told me the whole story immediately.  Meanwhile, Kimball was twitching her head around and foaming at the mouth, trying to get the stuff out of her eyes, nose and mouth.  It was like one of those very un-funny-at-the-time comedy scenes.

I was surprised by how different fresh, up close and personal skunk spray smells compared with what you pass on the highway at 70mph.  It's stinky alright, but way acrid...almost like burning rubber, and it hurts your nose to breathe it in.  Andy and I were totally unprepared for a skunking.  We tied the dog up outside and madly googled the best homeopathic way to wash a skunked dog- at 730pm in New London, there aren't any pet stores open, so no way were we getting any ready-made "doggy-deskunking shampoo."  The consensus from google was that tomato juice is sort of a myth, just masking the scent but not removing it.  Instead we went with a concoction of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dishwashing liquid.  Mix it up and apply liberally.  Rinse and repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat.  After about 6 washes, Kimball still has a distinctive funk to her if you get your nose down really close.  When it rains and her fur gets wet, she still downright smells.  Friends assure us this will go away eventually.... in about a year, or a week or so before the next time she gets skunked.