It started out pleasantly enough. Several couples in the neighborhood got together for a combination potluck/progressive dinner. We went to one house for a couple of hours where we basically had browsing food - heavy hors d' oeuvres, finger foods, and the like - accompanied, of course, by ample amounts of adult beverages. Then we moved on to another house for dessert, along with a few more adult beverages. Good company, good food, good conversation ... a good time was had by all.
The party broke up around 11:00 (hey, for us that's staying out past our bedtime). We arrived home comfortably full and suitably drowsy. That's when things went wrong.
Usually our two dogs meet us at the gate, where they jump up and down, turn in circles, and otherwise express their joy in seeing us again. This time, however, they were nowhere to be seen. I opened the gate, drove through, and closed the gate behind me. When I turned off the truck I could hear the dogs baying down by the back fence. Naturally, they didn't come when called, so I grabbed a flashlight and went stumbling down the hill in the dark (no moon, loose rocks, uneven footing, lots of cactus scattered around - wonderful terrain for a late night stroll).
I found the dogs in a brush thicket, scuffling with some critter. My first thought was "Thank God it's not a skunk." I crawled in there, got leashes around their necks, and hauled them out into the open. When I looked them over in the light here's what I saw.
Yes, the mutts had tangled with a porcupine. Evidently the first set of quills didn't deter them, so they went back for more.
I've picked up a lot of DIY skills over the years, but removing porcupine quills isn't one of them. So we bundled the mutts into the truck and headed for the nearest doggie ER. Since we live out in the country that meant about a one hour drive - one way.
After getting there and waiting for the vet to become available, we were told that the preferred treatment was to put the dogs under general anesthesia and then remove the quills. It also involves IVs, antibiotics, pain pills, and other expensive canine medical goodies, along with post-op monitoring and recovery time.
To make a long story short, we got back home around 2:30 a.m., then had to turn around and go back and pick them up at 7:30 a.m. So today we are tired, cranky, and broke. That vet was expensive - times two.
And today the damn dogs are getting all the sympathy...
3 comments:
Years ago my dog got a muzzle full of porcupine quills - while my husband was on a business trip, of course. When I called my vet, he said, "Lou, hon, get the pliers and pull 'em out." And I did. I blogged that story and other crazy things that always go wrong when the hubby is away.
Ouch, NOT the way to end the evening... At least YOU didn't end up with any quills, right?
Lou - I thought about pulling the quills, but several were up their nostrils pretty deep. So I figured I'd leave it to a professional.
Someone told me that the quills are hollow, and if you snip their ends off they deflate slightly and are easier to remove. Don't know if that's true or not.
NFO - no quills, no cactus spines, no sprained ankles ... and no sleep.
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