at midnight, right before i went to bed, i let kona outside to use the bathroom (and left the front door open), went to the kitchen to get something to drink, and started hearing this awful hissing-type noise at the door. i just knew that kona had cornered some wild snake or critter on the front porch, and that i'd have to go out and try not to get attacked. but when i went to the door, i noticed kona was making that noise, like he was trying to get something out of his nose and mouth, and he was drooling like you've never seen. then, it hit me - like i was punched in the face by the incredible hulk - and i thought i'd puke. the skunk juice, sprayed right by the front porch, was without a doubt the strongest, most disgusting, burning smell i've ever had the misfortune of inhaling. within seconds each room of the house smelled so bad and so strong, that our throats and noses were burning even without inhaling. so we hurried as best we could to get together our pillows, blankets, and flojo, and run out to the camper where our respiratory systems could relax for the night.
i was so mad a kona i couldn't even put it into words. if you didn't know, we adopted him from the animal shelter a year and a half ago. he didn't have much freedom at his previous house as he was kept in a fenced in yard, so for the first few months he didn't know how to handle all of the space and freedom here on the farm. he now listens and won't chase after every moving thing he sees as long as chris and i are with him and tell him no, but because he saw a rabbit ONE TIME over a year ago one night when i let him out, he continues to shoot out of the door at night like a freakin bullet in hopes of finding an animal he can chase. sometimes i get really firm with him before i let him out because his ridiculousness irritates the HELL out of me! last night i should have known not to even let him out because he knocked me down trying to get to the door. but i did. and because he can't just act like he has a brain and leave anything alone, we now smell skunk, which i imagine will hang around for quite some time.
i didn't mean for this post to be so wordy! so this morning when i went to the grocery store to get the supplies for the de-skunking wash, i kept getting a whiff of skunk. i was so scared someone else would smell it as one of my big fears is being the stinky girl. you remember that one kid in class who always smelled bad and was dirty and no one wanted to get too close to? yeah, that was me. luckily i didn't personally smell like skunk, but when i opened my purse to get my wallet, i got punched in the face once more by skunk smell. i'm sure the people around me smelled it, and i just hope they don't remember me, because i do not want to be remembered as the stinky girl.
just in case you ever need to wash the skunk oil from your pet, here's the recipe, and it really works (because i just had to do it in may when my effing idiot of a dog was sprayed the first time):
-1 quart hydrogen peroxide
-1/4 cup baking soda
-1 teaspoon dish soap
-mix together and wash only the affected area. rinse. it may take two washes depending on the severity.
i'm pleased to introduce you to kona, the black lab. he's a bed hog and a lap dog, and we love him. for the last few weeks, i've been sending chris links to labs or lab mixes at the humane society, but he hasn't really given me much of a response. on thursday, i looked at the humane society page for a neighboring county and found that they were providing a temporary home for this handsome guy. i sent the link to chris, and on friday afternoon, he drove the 30+ minutes to go meet this dog. we'd been hoping to find some breed or mix of retriever that would be a good fit for us and for flojo (who, unfortunately, is not scared of dogs and likes to bully them). kona's personality is great, and when we went on saturday morning to meet him, we knew he would be the perfect companion. he's a year and a half old which means he's out of the bad puppy stage, but will still play when it's appropriate. he's already housetrained, so the only thing now is getting him used to eating regular dog chow without gravy (otherwise he sniffs it and walks away). what a diva!
the ladies at the humane society told us that kona (he was actually called shadow, but we decided to change his name to kona, and he seems to like it) liked blankets and beds, and they were so right. he basically pushed chris and i out of the bed last night, so we'll have to teach him to sleep on the floor since he's a big boy. and even though he's a tough dog, he still likes his pink sparkly blanket...he doesn't have to know it's girly!
i whispered to lauren to make a funny, but still somewhat serious face for the picture, so she gave her best smile and crossed both eyes, while i gave an awkward, crooked, glamour shots like smile and just crossed one eye. the flash went off and we died laughing. the mexican lady joined in the laughter and told us to do another, so we did, then we did one more, and after that one, i woke myself up laughing. i don't how to interpret that dream or what it could possibly mean, but it entertained me, and that's enough.
i apologize for the poor picture quality, but today has been dark and rainy (not that i mind a rainy day) which isn't conducive to good picture-taking. when chris and i were on the way back from our island vacation/anniversary trip, we stopped in north carolina at this huge warehouse type store that had everything you could possibly imagine; most of it was crap, but this book was reason enough to go! it's called "animal house style" and it's written by julia szabo. it's not only about decorating a house for humans and furry or feathered friends, but it shares tips on everything from cleaning up fur to using safe, chemical free solutions to clean your house. i still haven't read much of it because i always end up looking at the pictures and forgetting where i was at!
A while back, my friend posted this video on my wall in Facebook, and it cracked me up. I still watch it every now and then for a good laugh. Ahhh, the things kids come up with!