The WORST Saturday

Friends. I have to tell you about the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

It was a gorgeous, sunny morning, and I was looking forward to prepping our holiday trailer for some upcoming camping and enjoying a weekend with few kids’ sports. As I walked my dog, Sassy, in the forested area near our house, I noticed something move in the bushes. Upon first glance I thought it to be a porcupine. Absolute dread rocketed through me. Sassy had gotten quilled in the face last summer and the emergency vet bill had been $800. I shouted for Sassy to come back to me since she was on the other side of the bush nearer the porcupine. Then, the little beast turned and scampered onto the path behind me. It was the CUTEST skunk I’ve ever seen. I hightailed it out of there, hoping my Sassy-girl hadn’t been curious about it.

Of course she was.

She’d been sprayed and was rolling on the ground, pawing at her nose to try to get the stench off. It took quite a bit for me to have her calm enough to come back to me so I could put her leash. She kept running off and rolling on the ground to remove the scent. So, there I was, chasing her, yelling for her to come while other neighbours were approaching with their own dogs while I’m shouting at them to back away since she was just sprayed. I sounded like a crazy person. Finally, I got her on leash and took her back to our yard where I dashed into the house and made a hydrogen peroxide/baking soda/Dawn dish soap mixture that the internet told me was the best thing for skunk juice. I got my boys to help me fill various buckets of warm water and procure towels, a garbage bag and gloves. Then, I set to patting the yellowish spray off her chest with paper towel, washed her with the solution, and rinsed her.

Guys, my dog hates water. It was fun. And she still stunk.

In the meantime, my husband was gone, trying to sell my old van on FB marketplace. As I washed Sassy, I received a variety of messages from the potential buyer indicating that they were at the agreed upon location and that my husband wasn’t there. Turns out the buyer went to the wrong place. My husband couldn’t wait around for an additional 30 min for the buyer to get to the right place because he had to take one of our sons to a massage for his sore back. So, I’m in the middle of washing my dog, trying to tell this insistent buyer that he went to the wrong place, while also calling my husband to let him know the mixup. I let the buyer know my husband had to leave due to an appointment and, wouldn’t you know it, the buyer messaged me 30 minutes later telling me he was at the right place but my husband wasn’t there.

YES. I KNOW. I TOLD YOU HE HAD TO LEAVE.

All the while, my dog still stunk so I blended some diced tomatoes and slathered her with the juice, then rinsed her. Didn’t work. Finally, my husband came home with deodorizer and we washed her a third time, then a fourth with dog shampoo, and let her dry again. And, yet, the smell persisted. It was greatly reduced, however, it hung on.

Is that all, you ask? Absolutely not.

Next, I opened our trailer to tidy it up for our upcoming camping trip. Immediately, I found mouse droppings in the carpet and in some drawers. With the Hantavirus cruise ship on the news, I wasn’t risking my family’s health so I loaded up with a mask, rubber gloves, bleach solution and my carpet cleaner. I sprayed the camper down, let it sit, wiped it all out, then cleaned the carpets. This took hours. Thankfully, the mattresses were wrapped in plastic with no evidence of being tampered with or chewed through, so I didn’t have to try to get mouse out of those.

By the day’s end, I had my second shower only to find I had a rash. All. Over. My. Body. Small, red little dots that weren’t itchy but were everywhere. Google told me it could have been from the skunk spray or the bleach solution <insert cry/laughing emoji>. I took an antihistamine, but the rash is still present, days later. I dunno.

The final cherry on the cake was that the next day, Mother’s Day, after my kids had given me their delightful, hand-made gifts, I noticed Sassy’s tail was hanging weird. It usually curls up. It was hanging down, limp, and swollen nearer her butt. Turns out she had a sprained tail or what’s called “rudder tail” which is extremely painful. Our poor girl was very ginger with it for the day until I could get her into the vet. They assessed her and assured me she’d be alright, prescribing some anti inflammatory medication. She’s much improved now.

All that to say: the weekend was a horrible blur and all I could do was laugh at the end of it. I hope all my bad luck is done and I can focus in reviewing Elsmere Lake Book 1 next week with no interruptions.