Leo bites the hammer

Before you all email me about dog cruelty, I must make a fast explanation.

Yesterday, Leo, Scooter, Michelle(Lee's Sister) and myself were taking a walk up the hill on the way back both dogs ran up the hill after what I thought was a rabbit. I called them and Scooter came out. Leo was slower to appear and when he did, he had a face full of quills, mostly inside his mouth.

In the past Leo has never grabbed porcupines, but for whatever reason we were left with a decision. A $300 emergency trip to the vet or an attempt to pull them out ourselves. Outside the mouth isn't hard, since you can muzzle a dog and not get bit, but inside is another story.

I noticed the wood handle hammer and came up with a solution. If the dog had something in his mouth that kept it open and didn't allow him to bite us we might have a chance. Well, it worked we pulled several hundred small quills out of the inside of his mouth without incident. Now I am telling you Leo was very cooperative. If he had struggled much we would have never been able to do this. My holding ability is very limited and he listens to me the best. He agreed to pose today as a short reenactment for you all and received a food reward for his embarrassment.

I used to be a dog trainer and vet assistant and am very used to handling stubborn dogs. I do not recommend this to anyone not willing to be bit in the process of trying to help. Leo was a good patient. He could leave a serious wound to anyone if in enough pain. The next day he got checked over by the vet and got some antibiotics for any infection at a much reduced cost then an emergency visit.

Never a dull moment when you live in the woods. The porcupines have cost me thousands of dollars of damage to my construction equipment, vehicles and dogs since we have lived here the last 6 years. They are part of the cost of living in paradise.

Mountain girl, Paula, Logging out!