Kentucky's First Family Hilariously Retells the Story of Their Dog Winnie's Skunking
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The date of Aug. 4, 2021, will be a day that forever lives in the hearts of Kentucky's first family. That's when the commonwealth's First Dog, a black standard poodle named Winnie, was skunked right in the noggin.
Gov. Andy Beshear and his family—First Lady Britainy and kids Will and Lila—sat down for a mockumentary-style "Winnegate" video to mark the occasion over the Labor Day weekend. It's pretty funny, though it does make me feel incredibly bad for poor Winnie, who evidently plodded around the governor's mansion in post-skunk shame.
"She also didn't understand why nobody would pet her," Britainy Beshear told the camera.
The saga began around 8:30 p.m. on the fateful day. The governor was outside with his dog when Winnie sniffed something and bolted off to her dad's left. Not thinking much of it, Beshear checked his phone. She ran back with "stuff" all over her face, coughing.
"If there is such a thing as a bullseye of skunking, that bullseye was right on Winnie Beshear's face. In the eyes. In the nose. In the ears. And ultimately on the dad she would run to," the governor said.
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When he couldn't coax her into the outdoor fountain, he elected—get it? 'Cause he's the governor—to bring Winnie inside, which was maybe not the right call?
The smell was tremendous. Britainy, Will, and Lila described it as a mix of a New York City landfill, 1500s Paris, rotten fish, old sauerkraut, and horseradish. Eclectic! The family had to open up several second-floor windows over that weekend to rid their home of the smell.
Beshear got Winnie into the shower to rinse her off, which is probably about when Britainy heard the thunderous "Britainy!!" she described in the video.
"There is definitely a masculine, gubernatorial way to scream for your wife when your dog has been skunked," Beshear said on camera.
After a few days, and a pretty close buzzcut, Winnie was back to normal. The end of the video shows her getting some much-needed pets from her family. Hopefully this sort of thing never happens again to poor Winnie. But if it does, we hope the Beshears take a few minutes to consult the Daily Paws guide to un-skunking your dog. It's got all you need to know.
