Sent Home from School because of a Skunk
79Scents and Memories!
Some memories are longer lasting than others as are certain scents. The day that my younger brothers and I got sent home from school because of a skunk is one of those memories!
Anyone that has ever smelled the spray from a skunk will know what I mean by a scent that lingers as has this particular memory.
I hadn't thought about this memory in years but it instantly popped into my head when I was reading the hub by Candie V titled The School Bus Chronicles: "I GOTTA PEE!!!"
It was not from the article directly, but from one of the comments made about a skunk and a school bus.
That instantaneously brought back the day oh so many years ago now that had started out just like one more normal school day.
Skunk
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Skunk
An ordinary work / school day suddenly becomes less than ordinary!
My dad was always an early riser and from the country he would drive the 30 miles or so into Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he worked as a carpenter eventually working his way up to becoming the superintendent of a large commercial construction company. He was a hard worker and was very talented.
The roads were not the super highways of today so that 30 mile one-way trip took some time...especially during the winter when the roads were covered with snow.
The very first home that I remember living in as a child, he and my mother had built from scratch. Additions to that home, like the garage, breezeway and sunroom, I do remember being built as time passed.
Turning our basement into a recreation room as well as his workshop and my mother's laundry room and cabinets for her home canned goods were also gradual additions as time and money allowed.
The parochial school that we were attending my dad was also instrumental in building.
But I digress...
Suffice it to say that my mother would have packed my dad's lunch pail and sent him off to work for the day with a hug and a kiss prior to getting we kids awakened, fed and dressed for our day at school. She would have also packed our lunches with sandwiches (always homemade bread in those days made by her loving and capable hands), fruit and some homemade cookies. We could purchase little cartons of milk for a few pennies at school in those days and we took advantage of that.
It was the Fall of the year and there was a certain crispness to the air but we still had our house windows open enjoying what we could of the fresh air coming in through the screens. All too soon the long cold winter months would arrive and keep those now open windows closed and frosted.
Family pictures with my mother and me and our dogs
Cleaning a dog after being sprayed by a skunk
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Starting with our dogs barking...!
All of a sudden we heard Sheba, our German Shepherd, and Rusty, our Cocker Spaniel begin a furious round of barking and yelping. It took no more than a moment to realize what was happening because of the smell.
Obviously a skunk had wandered out of the fields or nearby woods and our guard dogs (at least they thought of themselves as such!) began to defend their property.
Of course hardly anyone comes out a winner when tangling with a skunk!
That skunk literally make its way all around our house...remember the open windows?...spraying not only the dogs, but wafting a noxious smell so very terrible into the house that it was pure misery!
My mother had her hands full knowing that much of her home canned tomatoes would have to be sacrificed and used in bathing the dogs to try to eliminate as much of that rotten egg sulfur smell as possible. Tomato juice was the prescribed home remedy for ridding animals of skunk smell back in those days.
But what to do with us?
We were inside and had not been directly hit with the spray from the skunk and we begged her to get us out of that environment as soon as possible thinking that school was the answer.
To keep from smelling that horrific scent my mother let us use a little of her perfume and we all put a dab under our noses. That helped a little but not nearly enough. We now had the aroma of eu-de-skunk mingled with my mother's perfume...not the greatest scent combination by anyone's standards.
I always loved school but my brothers, just being boys, did not quite as much. That particular day they could not wait to get to school!
So with a bite of breakfast packed and added to our lunch pails (who wanted to eat breakfast amidst skunk smell?) my mother cranked up her car named Tillie and dropped us off at school.
"Pee-U!" the kids all said as they ran as far away from us as they could in each room. Noses were held...we were doing some of that as well!...and needless-to-say the classrooms were royally disrupted.
I doubt that my mother made it home before the party telephone line had begun ringing! She was summoned to come back to school post haste and pick up her darlings.
As memory serves these many years hence, it was a few days before we were welcomed back to school and it took quite some time for our now pink colored dogs to completely get past that aroma of skunk.
Family pictures with my Dad, brothers and dogs
Have you or any of your animals ever been sprayed by a skunk?
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Skunks
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- Happy Animal Rescue Stories told by Trudy the Dog
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- Secret Garden at Mirage Hotel ~ White Tigers and Lions ~ Las Vegas, Nevada
- Dog Story - How NOT to decorate a Christmas Tree!
- Cat Photos of our Family Pets ~ Desk Mates and Couch Potatoes
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Peggy - eu-de-skunk! ha ha ha ! That's too funny!
Great story. However, at the time I'm sure it wasn't very amusing. I feel so sorry for your poor mother, who was the one taking care of this stinking ordeal. Enjoyable read! Votes up and funny!
Hi Nicole,
Despite your humorous comment, I seriously doubt that you would have wanted the aroma of skunk as an excuse to get out of school. That...or you REALLY hated school! Haha! Thanks for your comment.
Oh boy! I didn't know that you could get sent home from school for smelling like a skunk but now I know! Wish I would have used that back when I was in school ;)
Hi Donna,
I should think that one experience with a skunk like that would leave a bitter taste in his mouth forever! Ha!
Hi Peggy,
The dog is young. I believe now that it has experience in the matters of skunks that perhaps it would not eat another.
Hi Donna Sundblad,
That is amazing! I have never heard of a dog actually EATING a skunk after being sprayed. Either the dog was VERY HUNGRY or VERY MAD! Ha! Probably the latter. Thanks for your comment. :))
A friend of mine's dog recently was sprayed by a skunk. They brought the dog in to try and clean it up, and the dog threw up...the skunk...in the house. He'd killed and eaten the thing! What a stinky mess.
Hi Dave,
I also hope that you never get close enough to have that distinctive odor of a skunk "perfuming" you as it did us so many years ago. Ha! Glad that this story brought some humor into your day. :)))
ROFLOL. What a great hub...nothing like the smell of skunk to open up your nasal passages! Just getting a whiff when driving on the highway is bad enough and who knows how far away the skunk was when it released it stink bomb! I hope I never get close enough to get hit by the hoser! LOL
ROFLOL. What a great hub...nothing like the smell of skunk to open up your nasal passages! Just getting a whiff when driving on the highway is bad enough and who knows how far away the skunk was when it released it stink bomb! I hope I never get close enough to get hit by the hoser! LOL
Hi Charlu,
Nothing quite like the smell of a skunk! Haha! Can laugh about it this many years later. Glad that this story brightened your day. :)))
That is to funny, I love this story. My dogs have been sprayed a few times and there is no doubt there is not another smell like it. ughhhh Thanks for sharing up and funny.
Hello Tony,
Thanks for reading this "fragrant" story. Being sent home from school because of our skunk encounter was really something! Haha! Love and peace to you.
I really enjoyed this "fragrant" story, LOL! What mothers have to put up with!
You told the story with great wit and made it an enjoyable read, thank you.
Love and peace
Tony
Hello TINA V,
Being sent home from school because of smelling like skunk was very embarrassing at the time...and funny to think about now this many years later. Glad that you liked this! :-)
Oh well, this was really unforgettable memories. It was quite a funny and embarrassing experience for you and your brothers. I smiled about your aroma of eu-de-skunk. I enjoyed reading your hub. Your photos and videos were great. I learned something from this, which is to be more careful with opening doors or windows; and beware of skunks. Thank you for sharing it.
Hi Sa`ge,
Ahh...memories! This one just has a bit of skunk odor attached to it. Haha! Thanks for the comment and votes. :-)
I loved this story, brought some of my own memories to mind as i read. Delightful! danced on them tabs ;D hugs :D
Hello Muktu,
"oh yah...they stink!" That might just be the understatement of the year when it comes to skunks. Haha! Thanks for reading about our being sent home from school because of a skunk. That is a long lived memory for sure!
What a great read. I saw a skunk the other day and thought it was so cute how they counce up and down when they walk. But then I remembered, "oh yah...they stink!"
Hello wilderness,
Nice that farmer had lost his sense of smell when that skunk "perfumed" his place. His poor dogs! Bet that it took a while for that smell to dissipate if the dead skunk remained under the house. Oh dear! That is quite a story also! Haha!
I've never been sprayed, but worked for a farmer as a child who had his dogs chase a skunk under the house where they eventually killed it. You couldn't come to within a half mile of that house! He was 90+ years old and had lost his sense of smell, so it didn't bother the farmer, but no one else would even come close.
Funny hub, thanks!
HelloRNMSN,
So we have a battle of skunk capitol of the south. Any others care to join in? Haha! Your poor little Prince got many tomato baths also because of tangling with skunks. That was the known prescription back then and there were probably many "pink" dogs in that day and age. Enjoyed your comment. :-)
this brought back many memories of the three dogs we had when I was young and the smallest one, little prince, was forever routing out a skunk/like bayoulady I grew up in the south and oh my skunks are always around and we lived on the Cahaba River which I beg to differ with Jackie is by far the skunk capital of the south lol and poor little prince would have to get the tomato juice bath in the wheelbarrel/he would shiver and whine/I always knew he was saying "but it wasnt my fault!!That skunk made me do it!!" thank you for a wonderful read!!
Hi SEO Expert Kerala,
So happy that this skunk episode and our being sent home from school because of it brought back some happy school day memories for you as well. Thanks for letting me know! :-)
Really the school days are the sweet memories of everyone life. After reading your hub I remembered my each and every mischief in school and having a nice smile in my face. Excellent your hub had made me remembered my old days
That's hilarious! Not for her, of course. Still can't help but laugh. Haha!
True.. that was as close to the little darlings as I care to get. My mother had a friend who saw one under the wood pile and thinking it was a cat, pulled it out. Her poor hubby raced to the market and cleaned out their tomato juice aisle. The woman was practically a salad by the time the smell was gone!
Hi Candie,
Visiting your grandparents and smelling skunk "perfume" was one thing. Being sent home from school because of skunk smell was another. Haha! When I read your hub and saw one of the comments...it spurred this hub memory. You are also one of my faves! Thanks!
I had to vote "funny" as these things are in hind sight. My grandparents lived on a farm in way-out-there-no-where Idaho. Going to their place at night always.. ALWAYS meant there would be that Eau-de-skunk wafting in the air! Special! Your folks were good looking! WooHoo! Thank you Peggy for mentioning little ol' me here.. you are one of my faves! Hugs! :D
Hello agusfanani,
Tomato juice used to be the old method for helping to get rid of skunk smell if sprayed. Rusty, our reddish colored cocker spaniel was not too discolored but Sheba, our lighter colored German shepherd dog was certainly tinged pink for a while because of the tomato juice. The kids at school were happy to get rid of our presence because of that "Eu de skunk" smell! Glad that you liked this true story. I can still laugh when I think about it looking back at that time so long ago.
That's a very funny story ! I like the amusing term you use Eu de skunk and the tip tomato juice for ridding the smell.
Hi Billy,
That poor dog! Being sprayed by a skunk must be quite horrific. Bet that they learned their lesson and never chased a skunk again! Or was it the opposite?
My parents had a dog that was stung by a bee once. Instead of avoiding bees, he went after them with a frenzy and was obviously stung again.
Sometimes lessons learned can be easy or hard! :)
Hello Kaie,
Oh yes! Let's definitely hope that the skunks roaming through your yard never make a direct hit. You and your dogs will never forget it if it happens!
Hello nifty@50,
Am curious. Do the skunks spray your mother-in-laws chickens or does she just smell that distinctive smell in the general surroundings?
Funny story and brought back funny memories a good friend had their dog sprayed on a farm and spent half the time trying to rub it off - oh dear did that smell linger...
I have a skunk, maybe more than one, that moseys through my yard regularly.......... the dogs have chased it, and we have smelled it, but it's never made a direct hit :-D
Let's hope it stays that way! Kaie
One of those rare occasions where getting kicked out of school is a bad thing! LOL! My mother-in-law raises chickens in Colorado and has to deal with the "little stinkers" quite often. Great hub Peggy!
Hi Rose West,
That skunk episode and how it affected our school day is funny to look back upon now these many years later. :)
How funny! At least it is now, though it probably wasn't back then for you :)
Hi sarovai,
If you have never been exposed to the smell of skunk, consider yourself lucky! Skunk smell is not only bad but it lingers.
I didn't come across this animal. Thank u for sharing about this.
Hello Sally's Trove,
This skunk story and being sent home from school for that reason is one of those family stories that has resonated in my mind every time I smell skunk. Hard to forget! Haha! Happy to hear that it brought a smile to your face this morning. :-)
Your story made me smile this morning. I love these little slices of life, and this is a dear one, from the penny milk to the party line to the poor pink dogs!
We get skunks here all the time, and your open windows resonated with mine. But I must say I've never had an episode that left me stinking, too!
Thanks for a lovely read.
Hello lyjo,
Glad that you enjoyed reading my remembrance of a particular school day affected greatly by eau-de-skunk. Not fun trying to get skunk smell out of dogs, is it! I can't imagine anyone actually liking skunk smell. Amazing! Thanks for the comment.
Oh Peggy...how awful, both my dogs have been sprayed as well...just yesterday morning I couldn't go out the front door...yep, a critter in the front yard...I found myself praying that it did not run out to the road and get hit for fear of eau-de-skunk....nothing worse....I know someone that loves that smell...crazy eh? Well written hub, thanks once again for a great read! Take really good care!
Hello bayoulady,
Our skunk episode was funny much after the fact. That particular day so many years ago we wished that skunk had gone exploring elsewhere! You must be getting used to skunk aroma by now if what you say is true that you "must be the skunk capital of the world." Think I'll pass on your challenge. Haha!
SO FUNNY!!!!!!I live in northern Louisiana , and we must be the skunk capital of the world. i challenge anyone to go 20 miles on a warm April Day without ending up with a skunk aroma in their car!
Hi Hello, hello,
You have never smelled a skunk odor? Lucky girl! Obviously we did not know that our clothes had taken on that odor...we just couldn't wait to get away from the house. We weren't too happy when we realized that we were also offensive at school and had to return to our stinky home. It takes a while to get over the odor of skunk! Yes...it was probably also embarrassing! Nice to be able to laugh about it now!
For me it is amazing because not having any experiences of skunk and I don't want to by the sound of it. Being at that age I pet you were dying with shame and it is never your fault. Yet, you are so embarrassed. I often think about why we are like that. Also the other little darlings lay into you. Poor Peggy.
Hi dahoglund,
I remember driving in the Wisconsin Rapids area at night. One always has to be on the lookout for deer running across the roads. Happy to hear that you have never had a run-in with a skunk. Hopefully it will stay that way! :-)
Hi Celesta,
There would have been no thought of going to a motel back then. We just had to live through the slowly disappating odor of skunk spray back then. We weren't too happy to be cuddling with our dogs for a time! Haha!
Hello Happyboomernurse,
Yes, for sure my mother had her hands full that day! Just imagine the story she had (and lingering odors) for my dad when he came home that night! Haha! I can laugh about it now...not so much at the time, however.
As to the little cartons of milk costing a few pennies, I think the chocolate milk was one or two pennies extra so it was more of an occasional treat. Those were the days!
I grew up in the city without very many animals like skunks around, or deer running around like in rock Island and the area I am in now. Fortunately I have not been sprayed by skunks or hit any deer, although I have had a pretty close call on the deer part.
Hi saddlerider1,
Actually our dogs and house took a hit from the skunk spray. We were not sprayed directly but the odor obviously penetrated our clothing, etc. thereby providing the scented distraction at school. Obviously we did not realize just how scented we had become because of the encounter or my mother would not have taken us to school. But we found out in a hurry! Ha!
Peggy, you were lucky that it only happened once. Several nights my son and I had to leave home and stay in a hotel because of skunk sprays. My house was weather proof, but not skunk spray proof. We were living on the last street of the Quail Valley Subdivision in Missouri City, Texas, at the time. I will NEVER in my life, forget that odor and the hotel expenses. I can laugh when I read this hub, but then, it was NOT funny.
Thanks for sharing your story. I will share it with my son.
Hi Micky,
Haha! I doubt seriously that you "were the skunk" in school. It would have been fun knowing you back then. :-)
What a wonderful story. I felt like I was right there with you and could actually smell the horrible odor of "ea-de-skunk" following you to school.
And I also empathized with your poor mother! That definitely must have been one of her most trying moments of parenthood.
Your photos were great and really personalized this piece. Being a baby boomer, I could relate to the clothing styles in the pictures and your memories of paying only pennies for cartons of milk at school and the party-line phone. Thumbs up! This story is a delight to the senses.
Those cute little stinkers can sure create a lot of havoc for people no doubt as I read in your great story. I have had my run in with them critters and often when I have driven the highways I would run one over and the smell would be in my car with me.
Not a pleasant smell at all, I couldn't imagine being sprayed like you were and then having to go off to school. Yikes.
Hello Stephanie,
So glad you enjoyed my school and skunk story and thanks for the compliment on the writing. Appreciate it! :-)
Hello Specialk3749,
Aren't childhood memories fun! Hope yours do not include being sent home from school because of the odor of skunk! Haha! Will look forward to reading some of your memories.
Peggy - I was sent home because I was the skunk. Alas! Loved it! Chicken danced!
Hello samsons1,
Thanks for the compliments. Does this remind you of your own skunk story?
Hello WannaB Writer,
Every time I smell skunk, that particular memory of being sent home from school is not too distant. Haha! Glad to hear that you enjoyed this personal story.
This is a great story, Peggy, and so well written. I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing.
I loved reading your story! It has inspired me to write about some of my childhood memories. Thanks you!
voted up & beautiful! Well written, descriptive. Enjoyable read. Reminds me...
Thanks for sharing this personal story. i really enjoy reading those.
Peggy W Hub Author 3 months ago
Hi SanneL,
Yes...I am sure that my mother wishes she could have escaped and gone elsewhere until the skunk stench died down. Ha! Thanks for your comment.