Open space, no leashes, a pond to cool down in, and plenty of interesting scents to explore, what else could a dog want? It seems that every time our son Robert visits us at the farm his dog Hunter sniffs out one creature or another. On two different occasions, Hunter picked up the scent of a Porcupine and things did not end well.
Living in the middle of nowhere does have a few drawbacks, like nothing is just around the corner, especially a veterinarian. Being that this unfortunate meeting happened on a Sunday the only option was for our son to remove the quills. That task took an hour or so, with Hunter yelping in agony the entire time.
Spikes were protruding from his nose and mouth along with at least a hundred others stuck in his face. At least this time it didn't happen on a Sunday because a vet was in need. $375.00 later Hunter was back on the farm, not quite as curious.
I ignored his actions at first but his unwavering activity had me thinking, can he be on the trail of another porcupine? As soon as that thought came to mind I quickly went to see what the heck he had kicked up this time, praying it was not another dart-throwing critter. This time he had treed a raccoon which was about 15 feet up a tree. This poor guy wasn't having a very good morning. Not only was Hunter on his trail, he had obviously come across the dart-throwing critter, with several quills lodged in its face.
I wonder how the heck this raccoon will remove these barbed darts.
or Hunter would have chased the raccoon further up the tree.
he took care of a groundhog that was living under our home.
