So I got up this morning and took the dogs out for their walks. Major Tom did fine but I pulled three ticks off of him. He gets under bushes and goes in the tall grass. When he comes out he usually has a tick crawling in his fur. I picked them off and dispatched them with great vehemence.
Then it was Sirocco’s turn. Things were going great until we headed back home.
Our neighbor has two dogs, and one of them is rather aggressive towards other dogs. He’s kind of like Major Tom that way. Their dog is rather territorial and doesn’t like anyone else in his yard.
So, their dogs were running around the front yard, and my neighbor’s sister-in-law was watching the dogs. We are on good terms and I didn’t expect there would be any problems. They have an ‘invisible fence’ around their yard, that buzzes a device on the dog’s collar to get them to stop at the yard’s border.
Their dog saw us coming and started barking his fool head off. Sirocco returned the favor and bolted toward their yard. I had him on the leash and in his harness so I reined him in before he made it all the way.
Their dog came charging across the yard and instead of stopping kept on coming. He made it over to us and started snapping. Sirocco wasn’t going to take that and started snapping back.
Here’s where I got injured. I put my hand between them to keep them apart. Mistake.
Their dog chomped down on my hand. He didn’t keep biting or shake his head. He just clamped down and then released as his owner called him off. She apologized and explained that the invisible fence was on the fritz.
I’ve been around dogs all my life and I know better. You NEVER put your hand near dogs when they are fighting. If you need to separate them, dump water on them. What I should have done is pick Sirocco up before we got to the yard.
My neighbor and the dogs went inside and I walked Sirocco home. My hand didn’t really hurt and it wasn’t bleeding. I was going to wash it but I figured I’d get Magdalena out for her walk first. My hand bled a little from the two puncture wounds and was a little sore as I walked her but I’d survive.
When I finally got Magdalena home I washed my hands with soap for five minutes. That’s when the pain kicked in and the hand started bleeding some more. It was the puncture wounds that hurt. It was the pinky knuckle. There was no puncture mark there but it hurt any time I moved my pinky. I can move my pinky so it isn’t broken. I checked with our neighbor the EMT and he said it is probably a deep contusion. I imagine it will take a while to heal. Otherwise I remain fairly indestructible.
After washing my hands I put hydrogen peroxide on them, then covered the wounds with Neosporin and band-aids.
Afterwards I went to visit the wife. I spoke with her doctor. They still do not know the source of the bacterial infection but they do know what it is – enterococcus faecalis. She will be in the hospital until at least Monday and at that time they hope to have a better plan of attack.
I hope you’re staying well, my Hordeling.
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