Skunked

Gaucho airing himself out close to the open back door.

Brooke and Peter get back from a really nice long walk all over town... We passed but a neighbors house down the street where they were hosting what looked like 100 or so friends to a live Shakespeare play in their yard. Twinkle lights in the trees, we could hear the actors performing, hear the claps and laughs. The sky was incredible. I needed a camera to capture to low clouds forming 1/2 way up the Absaroka's against a perfect deep blue-purple color of the sky with hints of pink and red. Perfection.

Our darling dogs walked next to us or behind us, behaving like the civilized dogs they are. Some tourists on Main Street even stopped us to say "we love your family!" For most of the walk Peter was not talking on his phone or texting (his new favorite thing) and it was just lovely.

We get back to the house just after dark and decide to watch the end of "Over her Dead Body" (Pete's netflix pick) and drift off in blissful slumber.

All peace and tranquility was blasted when I hear barking and screaming. I was upstairs in the bathroom -doing bathroom things - unable to move quickly. Pete was downstairs yelling something I could faintly hear over the barking dogs. After I was able to move again and I could hear through the barking, I realized he was yelling at me to get the dogs inside.

I move towards the door and by now Pete is upstairs too. Yes, distinct smell... A skunk. We did a dog check at the door. Dog #1 smelled fine - in Oliver comes (looking a bit terrified I might add). Dog #2 is fine - Brutus is just too slow these days to make it to the skunk firsts. Dog #3 sheepishly walks towards the back door. Yep, Gaucho smells awful. He was even gagging at the smell of himself.

It is HIGHLY likely that Oliver actually tormented and instigated the skunking and that soon after he pissed it off, he stepped back and used Gaucho as his blocker. Oli usually starts the trouble and Gaucho gets the brunt of it... Remind me of anyone else I know? Clark!

Peter ordered Gaucho to sleep outside by himself . . . Oliver and Brutus were already cozied up on the bed. He just didn't understand what he did. I spent 5 minutes trying to pet his non-smelly parts and assure him that he did nothing wrong and we still love him. Explaining to him why he was the only one banished to the deck for the night like a neglected Oliver Twist.

Today, he shall be the recipient of my cereal milk (their favorite treat) and I shall bath him in some strange concoction that is supposedly going to rid our him and our home of this horrid smell. I hear tomato juice works well.