Sunday morning I woke to the cries of coyotes. That maniacal yipping is hard to locate, but I know I waited a long time before I let Cassie out, because it was dark when I heard the coyotes and full daylight when I let Cassie out. When I heard her barking I knew something was wrong. By the time I got outside she was on the other side of the wall, scattering a pack of coyotes in all different directions. I saw at least five of them. She came back to the house immediately when I called, and I checked her for injury. Didn't I check well enough? Look at her here. I took this picture after I came home from church, before we took Jack to a birthday party.
When we got back from the party we found that Cassie had taken an empty peanut butter jar we'd given her earlier and forgot to take away, and cleaned it out while on Jack's bed. Naughty dog! There were some spots of blood on the pillow she'd been laying on. I assumed she'd cut her gums or lips slightly while licking out the jar, trying to chew the sides down to get to the peanut butter on the bottom. Anyway, it was our fault that we didn't take the jar away from her. Then I took Cassie on a three-mile walk. At home, late evening, David and Jack played the Chasing Game with her in the backyard, and Dave threw a frisbee for her. We went to bed early.
When I got up this morning Cassie did too, and followed me around slowly, sort of mincing. I petted her thoroughly and discovered a bloody patch on her left side, low and close to her back leg. Looked like two puncture wounds to me. I immediately leapt to the conclusion that she hadn't escaped her coyote encounter unscathed. But how had it escaped my attention for a full 24 hours? How had she managed a three-mile walk with me, then some high-intensity chasing with the boys in the back yard?
David took her to the vet this morning. The doc gave her five stitches and told Dave that the wound didn't look to her like a bite. Sure looks like a bite to me. But if Cassie didn't get bitten, how did she get a laceration requiring 5 stitches? How did I not notice it? A bite is the most logical explanation, but wouldn't it be visible in the picture I took after church?
Cassie's all groggy from the anesthetic and it's just breaking my heart. And I can't know how Cassie got injured. When did it happen? Why didn't I notice? I can't work it out in my head, but the coyote encounter and the blood on the pillow make me think she got a coyote bite. But how did she manage all that activity on Sunday afternoon, after the bite would have occurred? What are the other possibilities?
I just can't forgive myself.
When we got back from the party we found that Cassie had taken an empty peanut butter jar we'd given her earlier and forgot to take away, and cleaned it out while on Jack's bed. Naughty dog! There were some spots of blood on the pillow she'd been laying on. I assumed she'd cut her gums or lips slightly while licking out the jar, trying to chew the sides down to get to the peanut butter on the bottom. Anyway, it was our fault that we didn't take the jar away from her. Then I took Cassie on a three-mile walk. At home, late evening, David and Jack played the Chasing Game with her in the backyard, and Dave threw a frisbee for her. We went to bed early.
When I got up this morning Cassie did too, and followed me around slowly, sort of mincing. I petted her thoroughly and discovered a bloody patch on her left side, low and close to her back leg. Looked like two puncture wounds to me. I immediately leapt to the conclusion that she hadn't escaped her coyote encounter unscathed. But how had it escaped my attention for a full 24 hours? How had she managed a three-mile walk with me, then some high-intensity chasing with the boys in the back yard?
David took her to the vet this morning. The doc gave her five stitches and told Dave that the wound didn't look to her like a bite. Sure looks like a bite to me. But if Cassie didn't get bitten, how did she get a laceration requiring 5 stitches? How did I not notice it? A bite is the most logical explanation, but wouldn't it be visible in the picture I took after church?
Cassie's all groggy from the anesthetic and it's just breaking my heart. And I can't know how Cassie got injured. When did it happen? Why didn't I notice? I can't work it out in my head, but the coyote encounter and the blood on the pillow make me think she got a coyote bite. But how did she manage all that activity on Sunday afternoon, after the bite would have occurred? What are the other possibilities?
I just can't forgive myself.
Comments
All kidding aside, poor baby Cassie. Hope she feels better soon.