Posted by NCLisa on 8/17/06 8:50pm
Msg #139195

The Stench & the Fleas...

in the home of a closing that I did today. 24 cats and a menagerie of gerbils and reptiles in a home that probably had not been cleaned in a couple years. Not enough litter boxes or they weren't cleaned enough so the floors were also used as litter boxes.

I thought I was going to suffocate, and to make things worse, I'm allergic to cats!!

I'm all for animal rescue, but you can rescue cute furry creatures and clean your house!!

Then my 8:30 closing didn't sign because the loan amount was off by $37,000.

How was your day?

Reply by Korey Humphreys on 8/17/06 11:32pm
Msg #139240

Oh I had such a wonderful day!!! I woke up around 10 AM, watched a little TV.... thought about Charm wondering how tough her day must be..... and then laughed out loud because I could picture her.

Tomorrow I have to go back to work. I am really dreading it! At 1 PM I have a signing in Worcester, and then again at 6PM which means I have to drive all the way back to Ayer and then leave again for my six o' clock appointment.

Guess that's what I get for taking a lazy day!! LOL

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 8/18/06 3:44am
Msg #139283

Speaking of stench, here's how MY day started ...

My cat got skunked. I never heard of a CAT allowing themselves such an indignity! Of course, my cat would be the one to break all the rules...

fyi - the peroxide, baking soda & dishsoap cure works like magic. I've tested it 5 times. (I also have a dog who apparently doesn't find skunks all that objectionable!)

Reply by Tina_MA on 8/18/06 9:10am
Msg #139294

Re: Speaking of stench, here's how MY day started ...

I used to take my dog out around 5 - 5:30 am every morning. He could never just "go", he'd have to check out the whole yard first, even though I knew his back teeth had to be floating.

One morning, while I'm waiting for him on the porch, I notice that he seems to be playing with other animals. I thought they were kittens at first. They were baby skunks -- three of them.

Well, where there's baby skunks, there's a momma skunk not far behind. So I start calling to my dog to come in (quietly due to the hour and the fact that I don't want to scare the momma, wherever she's at). Of course, he chooses this time to ignore me.

So I'm motioning to him and calling him and scanning the yard looking for the momma skunk to appear and hose my dog down for playing with her babies. All of a sudden, I feel something rub up against my leg. I look down, and one of the baby skunks had climbed the stairs and was walking around my legs.

I also notice that one of the other babies is almost all the way up the stairs as well. I am completely freaked out, and start walking backward to the front door. I forget there's a step up, and land flat on my back in the hall.

Well, the baby skunks followed me in, and walked all over me, sniffing me, and one of them licked the sweat off my brow -- yeah, I was sweating bullets and thinking of how I was going to kill my dog once I got my hands on him.

While I was laying there, the momma showed up. I smelled her coming. I closed my eyes and prayed that she would collect her young and get the hell out of my house. After checking me out from head to toe, she and her babies finally left.

I waited a little while, and then went to get my dog. I wanted to kick his butt for not listening to me! That was the first time, and the last time that ever happened. I stopped taking the dog out so early, so that we'd miss the skunks in their travels.

Reply by Kate/CA on 8/18/06 9:30am
Msg #139303

Cute story, I'm glad it was you and not me! n/m

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 8/18/06 9:39am
Msg #139304

Re: Speaking of stench, here's how MY day started ...

Renee, yesterday morning I had the treat of bathing the dog with "the cure". Thankfully the pup didn't get it too. But I know that day will come. Unfortunately the skunk sprayed right near the porch so it stunk outside for hours.

Tina you got real lucky those stinky babies can spray as well as momma skunk. That's why I have a 22.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 8/18/06 10:25am
Msg #139311

My mom just called

for the formula for "the cure". Her and her friends dogs got it last night.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 8/19/06 6:01am
Msg #139484

What a riot!! Also, so well written!

I could so easily 'see' this, Tina - too funny!! We have more skunks here than squirrels, and I learned The Hard Way - nobody goes out until the sun's up and shining! I always know when there's a skunk out there because the dog LOVES them, and will whine like his best friend is waiting for him (The Striped Kitties). He acts like I just don't 'get it'.

I went out very early once at dawn, mug o' coffee in hand ... walking through the yard, and a baby skunk leaped out from the honeysuckle onto my feet. There was that Kodak Moment where we both looked at each other and said "(can't repeat here)". I haven't moved that fast in a whole lot of years ... they sure are cute, though - I'll give 'em that.

Reply by Ernest__CT on 8/19/06 8:52am
Msg #139498

Skunks are mostly OK, ...

... as long as you don't surprise them.

We've got a water garden in the back yard, which draws the local wildlife. We're suburban, so it's racoons, skunks, 'possums, in addition to the usual dogs and cats. We've lost some fish, including one which goldfish had overwintered several years, probably to the racoon(s).

I've live-trapped skunks, racoons, and 'possums without incident (knock on wood). All have been relocated via car. The skunks have not sprayed me yet because I speak softly and cover the trap gently with an old bedspread. A couple have been reluctant to leave the trap when it was opened in the woods!

The secret is to talk to the animal before it sees you, move slowly, and not startle it. (I know, hard to do when you don't know the critter is there....)

Reply by NCLisa on 8/18/06 11:06am
Msg #139316

Re: Speaking of stench, here's how MY day started ...

All 7 of my dogs got skunked about 20 years ago in CA. One crawled out from under the deck and the herd of poodles (and 1 collie) had to chase it around the entire yard for awhile. My dad was an exec at Del Monte at the time, and one of their Xmas gifts the prior year was 2 pallets of tomato juice. Well, my dad didn't get to drink anymore after that, they all got tomato juice baths for several days afterwards.

PS - did you know that tomato juice also gets the perm smell out of your hair when you get a new perm.