Oh That Smell!

Shortly after moving back to the country, we decided to get a good dog to protect the kids and the property.  At the time, we had three kids still living at home and their ages were 14, 4, and 1.  We needed a dog that could not only chase off "critters", but also protect the kids if and when needed. Our farm is about 40 acres in size and is backed by a wildlife reserve that is around 3000 acres.  It's also surrounded by large tracts of land, so we knew there would be critters!  We ended up with a male Akita pup, which we named "Gus" (after Gus from Lonesome Dove).

Gus quickly grew into a very big dog and a loyal sidekick.  Although Gus was not really serious about the protection part of his job, he LOVED to chase things, (which to critters translated as protecting us ).  He chased everything from squirrels, to deer, to raccoons and - yes- particularly skunks.  He often came home smelling faintly like a skunk.  They seemed by far his favorite thing to chase.

One morning we were stirred awake by the most horrible smell.  It was so strong, it would bring tears to your eyes and at that strength was hard to recognize.  It was a nauseating smell and it was wafting throughout the house strong enough to wake the entire household.  We realized it was in fact a skunk, but stronger than we'd ever smelled and that could only mean one thing - it was closer than they had ever been.  The kids thought the skunk had to be inside the house.  Upon inspection, Willy found that the openings leading under our pier and beam house were wide open.  We hadn't thought much about this until now.  Sometime during the early morning hours, Gus had found a skunk to chase.  Chase he did, right under the house where it unloaded all it had to offer!  This was made worse by the fact that the air ducts for the lower floor were under the house.  We had to spend the day away from home and allow the house to air out to the best of our ability.  It was days before life would be completely normal again.  However, it did not take Willy long to make doors for those openings.  Gus continued to chase things, especially skunks, but after that they could no longer cause us to have to evacuate!