.jpg)
A black and white intruder
Categories: Just For Moms, Development
I'll admit that I sometimes get spooked, at nights alone. While Nolan slumbers peacefully, I labour at my computer, hunting and pecking and searching for words and clients. Sometimes I hear a rustle outside, and I envison a masked intruder, hunched in the front bushes, peering through the window and contemplating a nefarious move. My mind works overtime, paranoid. Jordi is a big dog, a husky-shepherd cross, but he rolls over in submission to the teeny poodle next door. I don't know what he'd do if someone tried to bust into our home. I can run like the wind but my arms are skinny and I am not much of a puncher.
Last night I was sitting in my normal position, sometime after 10:30 PM. A cold cup of coffee sat next to me on the desk. This neighbourhood is silent. Once the birds have gone to sleep, it is so quiet that I can hear my son's breathing from down the hallway. My kitchen door was open to the second-floor patio, and Jordi was curled on his dog bed outside.
Suddenly, I heard an unusual, low growl emit from his throat. I looked over, the white fur on the top of his neck was standing ramrod straight, at attention.
"What's up, pal?" I asked.
The dog started to go crazy. Pacing up and down the patio, he stopped by the area closest to the front door, growling with a menace I've never heard before,.
"Jordi, what is it?"
My heart started pounding, this was weird. It was late and there was a slight wind, the leaves were rustling in the front and I could suddenly taste bile.Jordi went rocketing into the house and stood by the front door, still growling a low, menacing sound. Instinctively, I ran to Nolan's room and shut the door. I looked out the side window and saw something moving in the bush. A foot? Good god.
Grimly, I pondered my options. If there was someone bad creeping in my bushes, I wanted him to know about the massive husky-shepherd cross in the home, see his jagged teeth and witness the hair on his back.
"Jordi, come here!" I commanded and slowly opened the windows. Once again, I saw a flash of something -- a boot? Operating on pure instinct, I opened the door a crack so that Jordi could make his presence seen and heard.
What happened next was a blur of fur and legs and terrifying sound -- Jordi attacked and suddenly I saw the source of his anger -- a cat? A porcupine? And then there was a hiss and the smell almost knocked me out from my frozen perch at the door. A skunk.
Before I could stop him, Jordi, propelled by fear and noxious fumes, sprinted away from the skunk and into the house, filling my home with a smell so atrocious I can't put words to it. The skunk slithered away, undoubtedly ruffled and exhausted. Jordi slept on the porch last night, and despite repeated vinegar rinses, still smells to high heaven. It seems this is the smell of my new home.
Nolan woke up this morning and his first words were: "It's tinky, Mommy. It's tinky."
Indeed it is.
Last night I was sitting in my normal position, sometime after 10:30 PM. A cold cup of coffee sat next to me on the desk. This neighbourhood is silent. Once the birds have gone to sleep, it is so quiet that I can hear my son's breathing from down the hallway. My kitchen door was open to the second-floor patio, and Jordi was curled on his dog bed outside.
Suddenly, I heard an unusual, low growl emit from his throat. I looked over, the white fur on the top of his neck was standing ramrod straight, at attention.
"What's up, pal?" I asked.
The dog started to go crazy. Pacing up and down the patio, he stopped by the area closest to the front door, growling with a menace I've never heard before,.
"Jordi, what is it?"
My heart started pounding, this was weird. It was late and there was a slight wind, the leaves were rustling in the front and I could suddenly taste bile.Jordi went rocketing into the house and stood by the front door, still growling a low, menacing sound. Instinctively, I ran to Nolan's room and shut the door. I looked out the side window and saw something moving in the bush. A foot? Good god.
Grimly, I pondered my options. If there was someone bad creeping in my bushes, I wanted him to know about the massive husky-shepherd cross in the home, see his jagged teeth and witness the hair on his back.
"Jordi, come here!" I commanded and slowly opened the windows. Once again, I saw a flash of something -- a boot? Operating on pure instinct, I opened the door a crack so that Jordi could make his presence seen and heard.
What happened next was a blur of fur and legs and terrifying sound -- Jordi attacked and suddenly I saw the source of his anger -- a cat? A porcupine? And then there was a hiss and the smell almost knocked me out from my frozen perch at the door. A skunk.
Before I could stop him, Jordi, propelled by fear and noxious fumes, sprinted away from the skunk and into the house, filling my home with a smell so atrocious I can't put words to it. The skunk slithered away, undoubtedly ruffled and exhausted. Jordi slept on the porch last night, and despite repeated vinegar rinses, still smells to high heaven. It seems this is the smell of my new home.
Nolan woke up this morning and his first words were: "It's tinky, Mommy. It's tinky."
Indeed it is.
Recent Posts
- Reviews: What's New This Week (11/20/2009)
- Twitter Follow Friday on ParentDish! (11/20/2009)
- Diabetic Student Wins Fight For Extra Gym Classes (11/20/2009)
- Suri Cruise Stumbles in Her High Heels (11/20/2009)
- Sports Traditions as Important During Holidays as Turkey, Gifts Under the Tree (11/20/2009)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jenifer Scharpen 8-04-2007 @ 1:32PM
Oh, no! I used to live in the mountains and my roommate's dog came tearing through the house and skunkified us all. I totally feel for you.
Reply
Jenn 8-04-2007 @ 1:39PM
LOL! Poor Jordi! Poor you!
Man, that is bad. But at least it wasn't an intruder of the two-legged kind; a little stink (however atrocious) seems a small price to pay. :)
Wish I had something to tell you on the skunk odor; all I've ever heard about is tomato juice, and I've heard mixed things about its value as a de-skunker.
Reply
Tamara 8-04-2007 @ 2:01PM
Oh no! Poor Jordi! And poor you. It's going to take a while before he's completely stink free. I've heard about the tomato juice thing, too. I live in fear of Lula getting stinked, we have a lot of skunks in LA.
Reply
Ann Adams 8-04-2007 @ 2:55PM
From North Carolina State University and I've seen it a few other places as well.
"Wash the pet outside so the skunk spray does not contaminate your house. Bathe pets that have been sprayed in a mixture of 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide (from drug store), 1/4 cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and a teaspoon of liquid detergent. (This recipe will wash a small dog the size of a Jack Russell terrier. Make multiple batches for bigger pets.) Make sure the solution soaks through the hair onto the skin. Rinse the animal thoroughly with water after 5 minutes of scrubbing. Repeat if necessary. The hydrogen peroxide mixture must be used immediately after mixing and will not work if it is stored for any length of time. DO NOT STORE IN A CLOSED CONTAINER - it releases oxygen gas so it could break the container. This mixture may bleach the pet's hair. (Paul Krebaum's Recipe from Chemical & Engineering News , October 18, 1993, p. 90)."
Some others sites say a bath with dish detergent works too.
Time works best of all I think. Good luck.
Reply
Ethel 8-04-2007 @ 4:34PM
Poor Jordi and poor you - this hasn't been an easy time settling in to a new home has it? I sure hope this (the skunk and the evil neighbor) turn out to be a comedy and are soon smoothed by a good life in that home!
Reply
~Monica 8-05-2007 @ 12:48AM
That last line made me laugh so hard my eyes are watering. Nolan is so cute.
Reply
SKL 8-05-2007 @ 2:17AM
Some years ago I discovered that a family of skunks had made their home in a hole in the foundation of my house. They were actually so beatiful and cute. When they went out for a walk, they would all look into my kitchen as if to say, "who's that and what's she doing in our house?"
While I was still trying to strategize a way to get them to move out without pissing them off, something very bad happened. The ultimate lose-lose situation. An intolerant stray cat had a fight with Odie (the daddy skunk) and killed him - but not before he sprayed - while inside my house foundation. He might as well have been standing in the middle of the basement. It smelled horrific. His decomposing body probably didn't help matters (I didn't realize he had died until I found his fur the following summer). I sprayed with Lysol every day for a month before the air was more or less bearable.
How could something so pretty be so horrible?
Reply
Pops 8-06-2007 @ 9:54AM
Wait? You thought there was a potential intruder of mal intent and you opened the door?
Reply