Now there’s something better than tomato juice.

It has been a long time since anyone in my family has had to deal with a dog that has run into a skunk. Last week it happened! - in their own back yard. - in downtown St. Marys.

The thing about skunk encounters is that they tend to happen after dark and this one was at eleven o’clock at night, last pee break before bed.

No tomato juice in the house, short of cash because they were going to the bank the next day, and only one or two stores possibly still open, even if they happened to have enough stuff.

So, in a panic, they called mama, me. “Do you have any tomato juice, can you lend us twenty bucks. The house reeks, the poor dog is trying to rub his face right through the floor. Help!

I’ve tried the tomato juice cure over the years with only moderate success. It helps with the worst of it, but the dog still smells skunky, especially when wet, for months after.

For all those years there wasn’t anything else. Even grooming outfits had nothing else to use. I once had to drop my Bouvier off at a grooming salon at 7:30 in the morning on my way to my teaching job and pick him up after school.

It happened very lat at night, no tomato juice in the house and a job to go to in the morning. He spent the night in the basement, so the whole house stunk. The Groomers praised him for being so good, because they kept him standing in a tub, soaked in tomato juice, for hours. It was a definite improvement and he sure was clean, but he still smelled.

Well, I’m happy to tell you that those days are gone forever! Last week I was able to give my son a bottle of stuff called Odor-Out.

I’ve had the bottle for a year and never had to use it for skunk odour, bur it sure works well. They saturated the dog’s coat as directed, rubbed it in, sprayed the rugs he’d been rubbing against and the smell was gone.

I know because they came to visit me the next day and I picked him up. I put my nose right against the top of his head, I could detect just a faint trace, which only means that they were being careful around the head.

There was no rinsing, no washing - it just disappeared. So if you want a recommendation for skunk treatment, try Odor-Out. I believe there are other similar products, but I don’t know the names.

It probably doesn’t cost any more than tomato juice, possibly less. The amount you need depends on the size of the dog. This was a small dog with a long coat, but it didn’t take much.

The other thing is that you can’t wait until something happens. As I mentioned, these things tend to happen after dark, when the skunks are out wandering, and the stores are closed.

If you’ve ever had to deal with a skunky dog, you’ll know that the cost of a bottle is cheap insurance, even if you never use it. It’s like band-aids. When you need them, you need them NOW.

I’ve also used it to spray on a dog that has rolled in something unpleasant. Just washing isn’t always enough, but this stuff gets all the unpleasant smell out. It’s good for smells in rugs, to spray in the air to get rid of cigarette smoke, or cooking odours or burnt toast. It’s generally handy to have around. So do your dog and yourself a favour and keep a bottle in your cupboard.