Tala vs Porcupine. The Porcupine won.
Tala and her boyfriend Dante were playing in his backyard when Dante slipped off his collar. He decided it was appropriate to make a mad dash into the woods. Tala, being the dutiful girlfriend, bounded after him. Angie and Vicki, Dante’s Mom, went after them. Within minutes of darting off, they encountered a porcupine minding his own business near his home. Dante stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong, yelped, and stepped back. Tala immediately went to Dante’s defense and got the worst of it. Quills everywhere- snout, in the mouth, chest both legs and even under her paws.
Fortunately, a nice neighbor saw the two dogs before Angie and Vicki arrived at the scene and got the two away from the porcupine. Her dog had recently discovered him as well. Dante immediately was at Vicki’s side when she arrived, but Tala was in panic mode and about to run off, even though she was in tremendous pain. Tala knows Vicki well so she was able to snap Tala out of her flight mode. Both dogs were brought back home, and futile attempts were made to remove the quills. It was quickly determined that professional help was required.
We rushed Tala to Woburn’s Mass Vet Referral Hospital. Ang had called in ahead to precheck her in. Tala had been there a couple months earlier when she had eaten a piece of her leash, which she eventually vomited up. Minutes after arriving, Vicki appeared with Dante. We didn’t know she was bringing him. After attempting to remove the quills in his snout at home, she found he had a few very deep and some in his mouth. Both dogs were triaged and remained together for several hours, consoling one another, as they went through the process of quill removal.
I highly recommend the team in Woburn if you require vet services as we had. They are kind, helpful, and make a difficult experience bearable.
Dogs, Ang and Vicki finally arrived back home at 2am. Dante still had 2 quills the vet was unable to remove- one in the mouth and one outside. He has a follow-up vet appointment where they will hopefully be addressed.
The following day 3 additional quills were found in Tala’s paw, as she was still favoring one paw. Only a tiny bit of each was visible, so it was understandable how they were missed with the dozens of others that were removed. We were able to remove them safely. Tala is healing, both physically and emotionally from the experience. As of this morning, it is as if the event never occurred.
