Last night was a rough night.  Got a phone call around 10:15 PM from my daughter asking me to come right back over to their house.  I had only been home about 5 minutes, taking my own dog out for his last wizzer for the night when the phone rang.

After I left my daughter's house earlier, where I had been taking care of the grand kids while she rode her horse with a friend till dark, followed by wine and commiserating with her till about 10:00 on the couch..she summoned me to come back because their Chesapeake Bay retriever, Baron, was attacked by a porcupine.

More likely than not, Baron was sniffing out this rodent who, unbeknownst to him, would fire off dozens of quills in it's own defense.  Kelly needed me to stay with the kids while she took Baron to the corral, where she had medical supplies to sedate him while removing about 35 quills from his face, roof of his mouth and his side.  Baron's youngest sibling was similarly attacked by a porcupine and died as a result of one quill lodging itself in her lung.

Our "Bubbers" at The Lake

As you can imagine, I was in my car and back at her place in record time.  The babies were sound asleep, Kelly was preparing to load Baron into the back of her truck, all the while, Baron was seemingly oblivious to his injuries.  Kelly had already removed 5 of the quills when he tried to bite her.  Knowing the worst of the piercings were deep inside his mouth, there was no other alternative than to get him to a place where he could be sedated and treated.  My daughter is a Vet Tech and, thank goodness, very schooled in animal emergencies.  Never any fun, however, when it is your own beloved dog.

I could see only one of the daggers, jutting from out of the tip of his nose.  Poor "Bubbers" had no idea he had been skewered so heartlessly and without hesitation by this dangerous little creature, lurking in the darkness of his yard.

  After petting him carefully and telling him how much I love him, Kelly and Baron left for the corral.  Fortunately, she was able to rangle up two close friends, dog lovers and corral guides who were there to aid in the effort.  I remained behind to tend to the slumbering babies, who will never know what happened to their beloved doggie.

"Bubbers" playing in the snow at the top of the hill with Graydon"

A few long hours went by when I heard the diesel engine of Kelly's truck returning to the house, sometime after midnight.  Kelly and friends returned with one disoriented doggie, where they placed him on the living room floor to rest while coming out of his sedated stupor.  All the quills had been removed sucessfully as much as they could tell.  An air of relief and veiled anxiety filled the room as we watched Baron like hawks, petting him and speaking softly to reassure him he would be OK.

Kelly, Graydon and "Bubbers" who loves the water.

After a little time passed, sitting quietly with Baron, an unwanted visit from their feral black cat set Baron into instant attack mode, as "Shadow" came up too quickly to see what all the fuss was about and approached Baron's nose.  Bad idea.  Kitty hair and dander went flying as Baron attempted to bite him to protect his newly acquired wounds and a startled Kelly got her foot gauged by the darn cat.  What a fine how-do-ya-do that was!  Shadow bolted and disappeared quickly, before Kelly could perform unwanted surgery on his claws!

It was late, emotions were strained, concern was high and sleepiness was setting in.  I left my daughter, the sleeping grand kids and their wonderful family dog, "Bubbers," hoping and praying he would be all right.  Kelly had done all she could to treat his wounds and now, only time will tell.  I had difficulty falling asleep last night, worrying both about Baron and my exhausted daughter, who would up most of the night tending to her dog and to her still nursing baby.

Morning came way to quickly, as the noise and clanking of the garbage trucks screeched to a halt at our driveway at 6:00 AM, loading the trash and recyclables without concern for the slumbering occupants.  I maybe got 4 plus hours of sleep, before returning to the corral around 8:00 AM to resume my gramma duties and check on Kelly and Baron.  She said that he is very swollen but seems OK for now.  His wounds are treated and now only time will tell.  Anti-biotics would be a last resort so she is waiting to see how he does over the next day or two.

I am sure most of you have your stories to tell about your beloved pets and the perils of being a pet owner.  We all know that angst.  Just keep "Bubbers" in your thoughts and prayers for a complete recovery from this unavoidable occurance.  Goes with the territory when living out in the woods.