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Pepe LePew

post #1 of 31
3/23/10 at 9:26am
Thread Starter 
Yesterday I had an entirely new and unique fragrance experience of the worst kind. I came home from work, took the dogs for a walk, and when I returned what should I find just standing in the middle of my driveway? A tiny little skunk.

Having never dealt with a skunk up close and personal, I ran to the house, picked up a broom and started swatting at it, thinking I was well away from his zone of lethality. I was wrong. VERY VERY WRONG. I got hit full frontal from head to toe from a good 6 feet away. Fifteen minutes in the shower only marginally improved my condition. Now almost a full day and two vigorous showers later, I think I'm finally skunk-free but I hope that I havent just become desensitized to the smell.

Moral to this story: just leave the little critter alone and hope he leaves as he came unscented.
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post #2 of 31
3/23/10 at 9:31am
Snafoo, oh, how horrible! Poor Pepe...poor YOU! Nature has given the poor creature a powerful tool to use when threatened. Hopefully, the scent is gone by now.

Perhaps the best way to scare the skunks is to just let the dogs bark at him and frighten himn off. Perhaps making noise yourself and waving arms? (I don't think skunks are the fightin' type of animal and will leave if they hear frightening sounds.)

I hope the showers and subsequent application of pleasant scent will make this experience a memory.
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post #3 of 31
3/23/10 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primrose View Post

Snafoo, oh, how horrible! Poor Pepe...poor YOU! Nature has given the poor creature a powerful tool to use when threatened. Hopefully, the scent is gone by now.

Perhaps the best way to scare the skunks is to just let the dogs bark at him and frighten himn off. Perhaps making noise yourself and waving arms? (I don't think skunks are the fightin' type of animal and will leave if they hear frightening sounds.)

I hope the showers and subsequent application of pleasant scent will make this experience a memory.

I think the stink is gone, but I keep getting what I only hope are 'scent memories', as if one could ever forget...
As for the dogs, my first priority was to keep them away from the skunk - first, because I always suspect rabies, and secondly, because I've already had to deskunk them a few times already and I was hoping to avoid another encounter. Little did I know how the tables would soon be turned. I thought I saw them sniggering under their dog breath as I walked past them, leaving a vapor trail of skunk in my wake.
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post #4 of 31
3/23/10 at 9:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snafoo View Post

I think the stink is gone, but I keep getting what I only hope are 'scent memories', as if one could ever forget...
As for the dogs, my first priority was to keep them away from the skunk - first, because I always suspect rabies, and secondly, because I've already had to deskunk them a few times already and I was hoping to avoid another encounter. Little did I know how the tables would soon be turned. I thought I saw them sniggering under their dog breath as I walked past them, leaving a vapor trail of skunk in my wake.

LOL! This is so sad. Yes, the sinuses are literally scorched by the skunk scent.

We had dogs who encountered a cactus in an outdoor walk. We did not know until we saw the tiny spines in the paws, so we had to carefully removed each one by hand.

I feel for you as a skunk experience is the worst. I have not been hit, but the dogs have been hit. Is is a horrible experience and the dogs' faces show how miserable they are. If YOU hate the scent, can you imagine how THEY perceive this, with noses that sense 200 times more than a human's? What misery.

Yes, rabies are a real concern and you were wise to give distance for the dogs' sake. You were brave for taking the hit on yourself. Such sacrifice...
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post #5 of 31
3/23/10 at 10:17am
Growing up in the fifties we had a dog, a collie mutt named Laddie. (Didn't everyone back then?) Anyway, Laddie found the skunk, and got it good. Someone had told us the best way to get rid of the skunk stink was to shampoo the dog with stewed tomatos. Which we did. It was not a good idea.

So now we had, wet dog, skunk, and stewed tomatos to deal with. Around this time, Dial soap and shampoo was released, and that was the next ordeal we put the dog through. That didn't work either, but we finally left the dog alone.

To this day I can't stand the scent of Dial soap.
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post #6 of 31
3/23/10 at 10:40am
Demeter makes a Tomato fragrance. I wonder if they had people like you in mind when they produced it?
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post #7 of 31
3/23/10 at 10:54am
Man, I feel for you Snafoo, this is definitely not something I wish upon others. But interestingly enough, on the topic. No joke, skunks are one of the best non-domesticated animals to domesticate. Believe it or not, they have the same capability to be housebroken and good family pets as a dog or cat, in fact probably better than a cat. Their personalities are sort of a hybrid between cats and dogs, they're highly intelligent, and curious animals, similar to cats, always trying to explore. But they are far more affectionate and loving than cats, which is why they are similar to dogs. If they have their scent glands removed as a baby, and are domesticated from youth, the instinct to "spray" will not exist.

I know this is completely off topic, but I've done a fair bit of research on "exotic" pets. I have a definite warm spot for animals (though I strongly dislike cats), and at one point was interested in adopting something deemed exotic. I'm not in the position at this point to properly care for a non-domesticated animal, but whenever the topic of skunks come up I always feel obliged to shed some positive light on them.
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post #8 of 31
3/23/10 at 11:46am
Way to go Skunk! LOL, sorry Snafoo. Can't resist! I love furry animals.

Btw, as a Basenoter, would you care to describe the scent development of the skunk juice? How's the drydown? Any sillage issues?
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post #9 of 31
3/23/10 at 12:03pm
I don't post much on here, but swatting a skunk with a broom sounds like the dumbest idea ever. If I see a skunk, I walk away till it goes off on its own.

Just being honest.
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post #10 of 31
3/23/10 at 12:35pm
Tragedy + Time = Comedy

It'll take a while, but eventually you'll laugh at this.

Comedies in the 70s often involved being skunked. Also the fear of a casserole falling. Oh, and accidentally going through a car wash with the top down.
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post #11 of 31
3/23/10 at 12:36pm
Are you sure the skunk wasn't packing a bottle of Kouros?
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post #12 of 31
3/23/10 at 12:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

I know this is completely off topic, but I've done a fair bit of research on "exotic" pets. I have a definite warm spot for animals (though I strongly dislike cats), and at one point was interested in adopting something deemed exotic. I'm not in the position at this point to properly care for a non-domesticated animal, but whenever the topic of skunks come up I always feel obliged to shed some positive light on them.

As an animal lover, I'd beg you to please put idea this out of your head. Trying to keep non-domesticated animals as pets is bad for people, bad for the environment and worst of all it's bad for animals. Since most fetch very high prices but don't breed very well in captivity, poachers world-wide are willing to do what it takes to smuggle them (illegally, obviously) out of their native countries and into foreign ones. Thousands of animals - some rare and some actually threatened - are killed each year trying to meet the demand for these "exotic" pets. If they do manage to survive their cruel capture and transport, they're faced with a lifetime of captivity, away from their native habitats and social-groups. That's really only the beginning of why it's such a bad idea, but that much should get the point across.

I understand that not all exotics have been subjected to such horrors, but the market for them can't be perpetuated or tolerated - it needs to be shut down, and the only way to guarantee that is to stick to domestic animals as pets. Dogs and cats have thousands of years of domesticity behind them - they actually need people to help provide them with stable, stress-free and comfortable lives. The best thing we can do for wild animals is to respect them - leave them alone. You'd be doing a huge favor to animals (and animal-loving humans) by adopting a homeless one that can't survive in the wild, and leaving the ones born there to live out their days in peace. (Sorry - way off topic and maybe a bit preachy, but I feel very strongly about this and was compelled to speak up.)

On topic - my fiance actually likes the smell of skunk from a distance. I can't say I like it, but I can think of many far worse smells with which I come into frequent contact.
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post #13 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by d_duffy7 View Post

I don't post much on here, but swatting a skunk with a broom sounds like the dumbest idea ever. If I see a skunk, I walk away till it goes off on its own.

Just being honest.

Aw, cmon - you have to admit it was funny.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adonis View Post

Tragedy + Time = Comedy

It'll take a while, but eventually you'll laugh at this.

Oh, I was laughing my ass off even as the realization of what had happened dawned on me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangeline View Post

As an animal lover, I'd beg you to please put this idea out of your head. Trying to keep non-domesticated animals as pets is bad for people, bad for the environment and worst of all it's bad for animals...

I have to agree with you on this, Evangeline.

BTW, I tried layering Carnal Flower with the Eau de Skunk, and I have to say it wasn't half bad!
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post #14 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:55pm
Good thing your dogs didn't get sprayed, Snafoo. My mother-in-law's dog got nailed by a skunk a few years ago, and her entire house just totally reeked for, oh, about four weeks. I hate skunks.
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post #15 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:59pm
Ugh, sounds awful. Did you throw away your clothes?

I had a close encounter with a skunk a couple years ago.

I was walking to the post box at my apartment complex one night. This is one of those big, free-standing units with 20 or so slots, and there were three of them. I approach the box from behind, turn the corner and hear this loud clicking hiss. I glance down and not 4 feet from me is a full grown skunk with it's tail up and backside pointed right at me. Needless to say I ran the hell away. A close encounter indeed.
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post #16 of 31
3/23/10 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangeline View Post

As an animal lover, I'd beg you to please put idea this out of your head. Trying to keep non-domesticated animals as pets is bad for people, bad for the environment and worst of all it's bad for animals. Since most fetch very high prices but don't breed very well in captivity, poachers world-wide are willing to do what it takes to smuggle them (illegally, obviously) out of their native countries and into foreign ones. Thousands of animals - some rare and some actually threatened - are killed each year trying to meet the demand for these "exotic" pets. If they do manage to survive their cruel capture and transport, they're faced with a lifetime of captivity, away from their native habitats and social-groups. That's really only the beginning of why it's such a bad idea, but that much should get the point across.

I understand that not all exotics have been subjected to such horrors, but the market for them can't be perpetuated or tolerated - it needs to be shut down, and the only way to guarantee that is to stick to domestic animals as pets. Dogs and cats have thousands of years of domesticity behind them - they actually need people to help provide them with stable, stress-free and comfortable lives. The best thing we can do for wild animals is to respect them - leave them alone. You'd be doing a huge favor to animals (and animal-loving humans) by adopting a homeless one that can't survive in the wild, and leaving the ones born there to live out their days in peace. (Sorry - way off topic and maybe a bit preachy, but I feel very strongly about this and was compelled to speak up.)

On topic - my fiance actually likes the smell of skunk from a distance. I can't say I like it, but I can think of many far worse smells with which I come into frequent contact.

I'm not advocating for any illegal (or legal) smuggling of animals for domestication. That's not the only way it can be done. There ARE breeders, who breed these animals just the same as any dog breeder would do. Certain species are more capable of domestication than others. I see no reason why one that has proven to be successful in being domesticated can't do so. Again, I'm in no way advocating for the smuggling of some rare African Tiger to be a pet in a suburban NY apartment. I'm sure you're speaking from experience, and I'm sure that there is a market for exotic pets that demands illegal smuggling outfits, though I find that slightly hard to comprehend. There is a large difference between keeping a non-domesticated animal as a pet, and keeping a TRADITIONALLY non-domesticated animal as a pet, that has been domesticated from birth. You have to remember at one point dogs weren't domesticated either.

Edit: And there are still non-domesticated dogs in the wild.
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post #17 of 31
3/23/10 at 6:21pm
LOL I think it gets a A in the longevity and silage department!
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post #18 of 31
3/23/10 at 6:47pm
Thanks for the chuckle Snafoo
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post #19 of 31
3/23/10 at 8:42pm
I can still smell it on me from 14 years ago as a kid....it was so strong and pungent at first, that I remembered it smelling like fresh garlic and onions and every day it got better, but I can still smell like it was yesterday. Hopefully it is truly gone, and not just transparent to your nose. Nothing worse than being unaware of your own sillage! (..enter the powerhouse jokes)
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post #20 of 31
3/23/10 at 8:55pm
Moral of the story: don't funk with skunks
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post #21 of 31
3/23/10 at 11:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spray View Post

Moral of the story: don't funk with skunks

you mean dont funk with you? :P
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post #22 of 31
3/23/10 at 11:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by joey86 View Post

you mean dont funk with you? :P

My name is Spray for a reason
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post #23 of 31
3/23/10 at 11:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spray View Post

My name is Spray for a reason

aww you're cute :P

but im safe here as its really far from teh US XD
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post #24 of 31
3/23/10 at 11:59pm
sorry double post
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post #25 of 31
3/24/10 at 5:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangeline View Post

On topic - my fiance actually likes the smell of skunk from a distance. I can't say I like it, but I can think of many far worse smells with which I come into frequent contact.

Oh I do too!
Growing up, we had skunks that either lived or hung out in the bushes in front of my house. I think they leave a bit of the smell when they urinate, and I used to love the smell in front of my house in the morning. I still find the scent comforting (from a distance).
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post #26 of 31
3/24/10 at 5:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwhitney View Post

To this day I can't stand the scent of Dial soap.

On the other hand, you now LOVE the smell of skunk juice!


Quote:
Originally Posted by scentaddiction View Post

I can still smell it on me from 14 years ago as a kid....it was so strong and pungent at first, that I remembered it smelling like fresh garlic and onions

How worrying - I love the smell of garlic and onions. But from a gourmet point of view.

Living in the UK, skunks are something we don't come across in the wild and the few that are in captivity in this country are kept in enclosures with plastic windows rather than wire or a fence. Snafoo (or, indeed, anyone), as you have a current and up to the minute idea - can you give a good breakdown of what skunk juice actually smells like?
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post #27 of 31
3/24/10 at 6:37am
What is the potential of skunk as a fragrance note? After all, civet, castoreum and most other animalics are very funky by themselves. Diluted seriously and combined with more fragrant materials, they can make something special. Could this be true for skunk, too, or is it just too strong?
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post #28 of 31
3/24/10 at 7:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diamondflame View Post

Way to go Skunk! LOL, sorry Snafoo. Can't resist! I love furry animals.

Btw, as a Basenoter, would you care to describe the scent development of the skunk juice? How's the drydown? Any sillage issues?

HAHAHA...Hilarious! My thoughts exactly! Please...do tell!
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post #29 of 31
3/24/10 at 7:40am
I remember smelling the smell of a dead skunk that died around our house, growing up as a child. What a horrible smell. The smell, mixed with the smell or rotting dead animal, was quite horrific.

I imagine you will have 'scent memories' Snafoo, for some time (similiar to the trauma I experienced when I first sampled Secretions Magnifique by ELDO). But in time, the memories will fade.
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post #30 of 31
3/24/10 at 8:36am
I've always felt that the odor of skunk spray had something in common with rectified birch tar. Keep scrubbing, Snafoo!
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post #31 of 31
3/24/10 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by great_badir View Post

On the other hand, you now LOVE the smell of skunk juice!




How worrying - I love the smell of garlic and onions. But from a gourmet point of view.

Living in the UK, skunks are something we don't come across in the wild and the few that are in captivity in this country are kept in enclosures with plastic windows rather than wire or a fence. Snafoo (or, indeed, anyone), as you have a current and up to the minute idea - can you give a good breakdown of what skunk juice actually smells like?

Like Sulfur.
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