All summer long, our smaller dog, Lucy, who is a Corgi and knows no fear, has been barking at the "hoodoo" in the woods behind our house. As of last night, the hoodoo has a name - it is a porcupine. Just before bedtime, Lucy went out and got after it. She ended up with over 50 quills stuck in her snout, mouth and front paw. I never did see the porcupine, but my guess is that Lucy lost the match rather badly.
Although they are not fatal and do not generally get infected, the quills are very uncomfortable. They also are hard to remove because their tips have tiny scales that act like anchors. Using pliers, I successfully pulled most of them out, but still a dozen or more were stuck so deeply, were in sensitive parts of her nose and mouth, or had broken off and were too short to grab. So we spent most of Sunday night's wee hours at an all - night vet 60 miles away getting the rest of them removed (along with a $200 removal from my checkbook - they may be country vets but they charge city prices).
Two days later Lucy is tender but feeling better. For her sake and mine, I hope the dog has learned that porcupines are a "look but don't touch" curiosity. Oh... the joys of country living.
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