When I gathered the Herd for Thursday morning's check-in, Lucy was covered in chunks of cholla.
It's not unusual to find a piece or five stuck on her head, but this was different.
It was like she had slept with a Cactus and they woke up and had a big fight,
which she lost so she rolled over on him a few times.
which she lost so she rolled over on him a few times.
Anyway, I removed the big pieces without too much trouble, but panicked
when I saw that her back legs resembled vertical porcupines from the knees down.
when I saw that her back legs resembled vertical porcupines from the knees down.
Lucky for both of us, our vet answers his phone before dawn
and I had a syringe of Dormosedan Gel on hand.
The sedative gave me a 90-minute window to sit underneath her,
pulling out the spines without her killing me kicking out in pain.
I think/hope/pray I got most of them.
She'll be on antibiotics for awhile in case I didn't, since the vet believes
abcesses might form around any I missed.
Once all the drama had passed, I headed out to the small pasture
where the herd stays overnight, looking for evidence
that might help me understand how Lucy got herself
into such a prickly mess.
where the herd stays overnight, looking for evidence
that might help me understand how Lucy got herself
into such a prickly mess.
I'd bet the ranch that this is the scene of the crime.
My theory is: she took a nap in the fluffy soft dirt,
rolled onto the cactus as she got up,
scared herself silly, then jumped into or over it,
scattering pieces of it willy-nilly across the area.
In other words, she slept with a cactus, had a fight with it and lost.
p.s. Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees a cholla shaped like
p.s. Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees a cholla shaped like
a donkey on her back, rolling with her legs in the air.
