Skunk Vs Dog. Skunk 1, Dog 0

ISAIAS MICIU (Photographer)

A couple of days ago 3 Elhew Pointers arrived to grace our kennels and to help us find the illusive California Quail in our area.  We spent the last couple of days letting the dogs run and get used to their new environment.  They seem to be adjusting without a hitch.

Today we took the two sibling pointers who seem to work very well together.  The bitch (Pearl) tends to roll wide and the stud (Whip) checks in once in awhile and stays a bit closer to the gun.   Towards the end of our hunt Pearl locked up tighter than a frogs ass on a particularly thorny bush and wouldn't budge.  Her brother, Whip, backed her with razor like precision.  However, the "bird" wouldn't fly no matter how I beat that bush.  The bitch wouldn't relent and finally dived headfirst into that damn thorn bush and nearly disappeared.  After about 15 seconds she seemed to be displaying what looked like 'terrier' like movements.  It was as though she was snapping at a squirrel!

I moved in for a closer look and saw something I wish I hadn't.  It was a young skunk posed to deliver his payload!  Before I could get the bitch out of the bush the skunk had done what it was made to do.  So strong is her sense of smell and so pungent was the odor of the skunk that poor Pearl nearly fell over.  She couldn't and wouldn't move!  I quickly grabbed her by the collar to get her the hell out of there and managed to avoid "most" of the spray.

The bitch trotted off but something was definitely awry.  She began to weave and nearly fell over three  or four different times.  Fortunately, the worst of the smell dissipated enough for her to stand upright without much problem.

One mud bath, two tomato sauce baths and two white soap baths later Pearl was no worse for the wear.  In fact, she seemed to appreciate our efforts to help her.   Tomorrow, we will head out to another great estancia to find more quail.  I hope to god there are no damn skunks!