I did dig out some medical gloves from my pet emergency kit and cleaned out her wounds which were more puncture than torn skin (good I think). As soon as it was daylight I gave her a good bath too with peroxide, baking soda, and dawn soap mixture on her body and vinegar on her face to help take away some of the smell. It did help but didnt eliminate it entirely. I called my vet as soon as it opened (they werent on-call last night a vet about an hour and a half away from me was) and explained what had happened. They asked me questions about the skunk and dog then recommended that I bring the skunk into them so they could send it off to the University of Min. to get tested. I of course had to pay for the shipping and testing of the dead skunk because apparently the state doesnt pay for it anymore. I paid for it so that we would know for sure what is going on. The vet couldnt get Trooper in until 2:00 yesterday afternoon. I was upset about that but it was the best that they could do. She was given an exam by the vet and a rabies booster shot. By that time the ankle the skunk was latched onto was quite swollen so she is also on Antibiotics. I didnt have any antibiotics in the house, I always keep PennG for the horses but it was expired by about 6 months. Need to pick some more up.
The vet said that she isnt to concerned at this point about rabies since the attack was at night and seemed like normal behavior of a trapped skunk. We will just have to wait and see. Right now, Trooper is home quarantined until we get the results back which should be on Tuesday
. Such a long wait. If it is negative then everything goes back to normal. If it is positive she will be quarantined at home for 6 months confined in a kennel with only one adult person responsible for her care and she will receive several more rabies shots. If she starts showing signs of rabies she will be put down immediately but if things are fine after 6 months she will be free to be a normal dog again. I really hope it comes back negative, I dont think confinement for 6 months would be fair to her. She loves to get out and play ball with her boy, run with him when he rides his bike, sit under the shade of a tree, or just following him around. We will just have to wait and see.
Today her swelling is about the same as last night but she seems to be lethargic, not her normal happy self. I am thinking she is just tired from her ordeal, she isnt a young pup anymore at 7 almost 8 years old.
Once the results come back, I will update this post.
