So last summer, after everyone else had headed back home, my son to his dad, my sweetie back to work, I was at the ol’ homestead by myself, with my dog. It was a beautiful day, as it usually was last summer. Ella had run into the woods and I was clearing rocks out of the market garden, some of them bigger than my head.
After about 20 minutes, I realized I hadn’t seen the Ella girl for a while and called out to her. Usually, all I have to do is think ‘hmm, wonder where that dog is’ and she appears. But this time, she didn’t. I called again, scanning the tree line on the far side of the field, and still no Ella.
This was unlike her. She usually stuck right around wherever I was, which is why I had no worries about having her off leash at the farm. I went back to the trailer to see if she was hiding in some shade, or if she had found something she was digging up, a favourite pastime of hers.
Nope. Still no Ella.
I got in the car and drove down to the road, and over to the next farm looking for her. No Ella.
Turned around, back up our drive and as I crested the hill, I saw her coming out of the back woods, behind the workshop. She was pawing at her face and looked very much like someone just after they have walked through a spider web. I called to her, she looked up, started toward me and stopped to paw her face again.
Once I got close enough to see her face, I noticed the quills.
Those first few moments, I had no idea what to do. Then I remembered someone telling me to clip off the tips of the quills to avoid tearing the flesh as much upon removal. I ran to the workshop and grabbed some pliers and wire cutters, then to the trailer to get some water and a cloth. Ella followed me. I’m sure she knew I was preparing to help her – the poor little girl. Nine quills in her face and three in her right paw, one of those between her toes.
Once I had a bowl of warm water, a bowl of cold water, and several clean cloths, I backed her bottom up against a wall and grabbed the tip of the first with the wire cutters and clipped off the end. It was quick and Ella hardly moved. The other tips had already broken off with all her pawing at them, except for the one between her toes. I cut that tip quickly, too. Then got to work with the pliers. She was nervous and kept tossing her head every time I tried to get hold of it, but the pliers grabbed quickly and when she tossed her head, it came out.
I thought about wiping the little trickle of blood away before getting to the others but I figured, if that was me, I’d want them all out ASAP – no messing around. I grabbed for the next, and the next, and in less than 5 minutes, I had them all out. Then I washed gently with the warm water, every spot that had taken a quill, and followed it with cold water, only because I thought it might feel better to have cool water over those injury’s. I purposefully didn’t use any soap or detergent in case it could cause irritation to the wound or remove some beneficial bacteria dogs have to help heal wounds. As I wiped the cloth over her face and foot, I was feeling for more quills, in case she had broken them off right at her skin, but didn’t find any more. The one between her toes bled quite a bit, and for a long time. Once I finished, she went to lie down on her bed in the back of the trailer, and shook for a while. I checked on her every half hour for the next few hours, and mostly she just looked sad. I had wrapped her foot in some strips of towel to slow the bleeding and I changed those a few times over the next few hours, but once it stopped, there was no sign of even the smallest puncture wound.
Over the next day I kept her close to me. We drove to Moncton to meet my sister’s plane and Ella slept the whole way in the car. Before we came back, I checked her all over for swelling or redness and found none.
I can’t help but feel we dodged a bullet with this one. We were very lucky she didn’t get any in her eyes or mouth.
I have since done some research on the internet to see what kinds of advice are out there for people trying to help animals after encounters with porcupines, and only one or two sites mention the clipping of the quills. One of those says it is so you can get a better grip on them, and the other says it stops a vacuum that can pull out more flesh if the tips are left on. I’m not sure how this would happen, though.
I can’t remember who told me to clip the ends off, or if I just heard it somewhere, but whomever it was and whenever it was, I am grateful. My Ella puppy is grateful, too.