Lovells was our "Up North" get-away from metro Detroit. We spent every spare minuet there. We camped before we built. One Sunday, as we were packing to leave, Diane and I Looked at each other and said in unison, "Where are the dogs?" Then it was just Bubba and Dink. The girls were well behaved and never wandered off. I whistled, we called and scoured the area. No dogs. The only place we didn't look was the car. The mutts were sitting in the back seat looking embarrassed.
Minnie (American Water Spaniel)
Bubba (Springer) & Dink (Terrier)
The Water Lovers
Bubba and the Badger
About 0630 on a nippy, spring, Sunday morning Bubba fussed to go out. We were camping on our Lovells lot in a small travel trailer. Without a thought I opened the door and she uncharacteristically bolted out and took off at full gallop. It took me a couple seconds to understand the situation. Bubba was in hot pursuit of a full grown Badger. This was not good for several reasons. Badgers are mean, fierce fighters, and could severely injure a 50 lb. dog. And as I discovered, the badger's second-line of defense is a spray, the odor of which any Skunk would be proud.
The smell was world-class. Words don't begin to do it justice. By 0700 I was giving Bubba a shampoo in the river. Not sure which was colder, the air, water, or me and Bub. By 0930 we were back in the river, this time with tomato juice. That didn't help much either. Side benefits included a stinky RV and a smelly three hour ride home.
Other deodorizing efforts included a close hair cut and additional shampoos. Time was the best cure. It took the smell about a year to fade. And every time Bubba got damp, we all remembered the Badger. If Wisconsin is the "Badger State", why don't they keep all the Badgers there?