Two nights ago, I let the boys out just before bedtime. Normally, Cody takes his time trying to figure out if he wants to brave the cold or just hold it until morning when the sun is out and it?s a little warmer. That night, he took off at a full run out the door. Apparently, one of the neighbor?s cats was bold enough to come into our yard. I ran out after them since Cody?s a climber and I was afraid he would try to climb the fence after the cat.
My brother had left the garage door open, so after scrambling around the yard, the cat ran in there, and of course, Cody ran in after him. All of the sudden, the cat flew out and back into his own yard. I heard a crash, and then Cody ran out. He did a circuit around the yard, and when he didn?t see the cat, he decided to go back inside. Standing on the porch, I noticed dark spots on him, but I thought he had run through some mud. That?s when I noticed the smell. Earlier that evening, my brother changed the oil in his truck and left it in a pan in an area of the garage the dogs don?t normally go into. Cody must have splashed through the pan trying to get to the cat, because all four paws were black, as were both of his hind legs, his butt, his chest, and even his nose.
I scooped him up, grabbed some Dawn, and jumped in the shower with him (we don?t have a bath tub, just double showers). He already hates being bathed, so he was doubly annoyed with the extra long bath and extra scrubbing. Even after almost 2 hours in the shower, all the oil didn?t come off, so I dried him off and let him go lay down on a towel on the couch. I got the Dawn, some baking soda, a wash cloth, and a bowl of water and continued trying to get it off of him while he was sleeping. I finally got most of it off at around 4 am and we went to bed.
Like clockwork, Cody was up at around 6 am, pulling the blankets off of me and ready to start the day. Oh the joys of a basenji!