Creatures of the Night

Last night as we were doing our evening routine of barn chores we took Sam out with us. We have been experimenting with him by allowing him to walk with us without his leash and so far he has been doing really well. Goes straight to the barn with us and then comes right back to the house, no problems. Well last night there was a problem. After going out to the barn nicely with us and being only mildly annoying we headed back to the house. Well Sam decided to head the opposite direction and take a detour around the neighbors house and then back again. Since we had no leash or other means by which to entice him back we went inside. I grabbed his collar and Kim went looking for treats. As I made my way back out I saw him dart across the street into the other neighbors field. This greatly annoyed me as he is now crossing the street at night time. So I put on my best "bad dog" voice and yelled at him to come home as I headed in his general direction. To my shock and surprise he listened suddenly he started heading back my way at a brisk trot. As the words "Good Dog" were just escaping my lips a horrific and highly recognizable smell came slamming into my nostrils. It was then that I noticed Sam was drooling and his eyes were all watery. I couldn't believe it my reject dog had gotten sprayed by a skunk. However now my brain had to cope with a second problem because Sam was now headed toward the door at a mighty clip trying to find the comfort of his own home and I was in no position to keep him from getting there. As I hastily made my way to the house to keep Sam and his new found scent out Kim heard him coming and threw wide the door to welcome the wayward dog home. I yelled at that point to not let him in and just as the words "why not" were on the verge of escaping her lips the same horrible realization that I had moments before become privy to dawned fully upon her in the form of that horrific smell......SKUNK!!!! All I can say to this is yuck. Sam spent the night in the barn and tonight we gave him a vinegar, peroxide, lavender bath. So pretty much now our basement smells like wet dog-lavender-skunk......mmmmmmmmm tasty.