Porcupines at Bangor City Forest!

I'm not sure how common this is, but Andre (our dog) encountered a porcupine on one of the trails in Bangor City Forest. Cano, Ben and I went there on Saturday to do Ekidokai's series but had to cut the day short when Andre ended up with a lip full of quills. Thankfully he was on a leash so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

We called Ekidokai to ask him what the quickest way to get to our car would be so that we'd be able to take Andre to the emergency vet. Ekidokai kindly offered to come pick us up and drive us to our car so we could save some walking time :)

Ben ended up being able to use the pliers in his pocket knife to pull out all but 2 of the quills. The last two were in really deep so he decided to leave them in and let the vet take care of them rather than risk breaking them. He usually keeps that pocket knife in the car because I give him a hard time about never needing it... but from now on I fully support carrying it with us :) lol

Oh, and btw, the people at the emergency vet in Brewer are pretty awesome. Since it was just 2 quills and he did not need to be sedated they took care of Andre without even charging us!

Ditto on the Emergency vets in Brewer. A few weeks ago our 2 german shepherds got into it with a porcupine while we were hiking in the Abbot area. Luckly we wernt that far up the mountain and we turned around and headed back. We were able to pull out all of them in Brody but Greta had rubbed her face into the ground so many times that they were broken off and she had them in her mouth. We ended up taking just Greta to the Brewer Emergency vet and they took her right in. They were awesome. Glad Andre is doing fine. Im wondering if this encounter was enough to keep them from doing it again. I doubt it.

I've encountered quills and fish hooks. For quills I believe we poured white vinegar on them to soften...then clipped the end w/scissors..venting it and allowing it to shrink a bit. Next we used pliers as close to the skin as possible and supported the surrounding area w/the free hand as the pliers pulled firmly and swiftly straight outward. Not very fun at all :( Some vets will SoAk you with a bill that hurts worse than the quills...and then some.....esp. for an emergency call.

:) Add this to the list of reasons that I'm currently petless. (My greyhound passed away last year and we have not settled on a new dog yet)

If only we could train these porcupines to only attack the dogs (or better yet the owners who let their dogs) crap all over the trails! :D:p:D

I think Greta was out for about 15 minutes and the total bill was around 260 buckaroos. Ive heard of people paying upwards of 1500-2000 because the dog had them in their throats. It will have been worth every bit of the 260 if she never goes after another one again. Highly doubtful but Im hopeful! LOL

Dogs DO NOT learn from Porcupine experiences any more than they do skunk! It's another critter to explore or which will challenge the dog - both critters being curious - dogs end up being quilled or sprayed again and again. Keep away is the only game which works.

Everyone laughs at me when were out with the dogs in the middle of nowheres and I whip out my doggie doo doo disposable bag dispencer. Its attatched to my pack with a carabiner. Leave it to my dogs though to always take a "dump" on the front lawn of Rite Aid or someplace public. Its so embarrasing trying to pull a 100 lb german shepherd off the front lawn so he can do his duty. Then picking it up and carrying it back to the minivan. Totally Gross! But I do it. I wouldnt want to be the one to step in it. I remember carrying one home from Mt.Chocorua all the way back to Alfred Maine. Ok now that ive gross'd everyone out Im done. LOL :o)

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Originally Posted by hvaclu

Everyone laughs at me when were out with the dogs in the middle of nowheres and I whip out my doggie doo doo disposable bag dispencer. Its attatched to my pack with a carabiner. Leave it to my dogs though to always take a "dump" on the front lawn of Rite Aid or someplace public. Its so embarrasing trying to pull a 100 lb german shepherd off the front lawn so he can do his duty. Then picking it up and carrying it back to the minivan. Totally Gross! But I do it. I wouldnt want to be the one to step in it. I remember carrying one home from Mt.Chocorua all the way back to Alfred Maine. Ok now that ive gross'd everyone out Im done. LOL :o)

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I applaud you for responsible dog ownership. To many people think if their dog does it in the woods it is ok! For years folks wondered why motels/hotels in towns with dog shows didn't want people with dogs - well, it if because of the people who don't clean up - because the poo was in the edge of the woods or under the shrubbery.

Thank you for cleaning up - didn't gross me out - made me applaud!

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Originally Posted by hvaclu

Everyone laughs at me when were out with the dogs in the middle of nowheres and I whip out my doggie doo doo disposable bag dispencer. Its attatched to my pack with a carabiner. Leave it to my dogs though to always take a "dump" on the front lawn of Rite Aid or someplace public. Its so embarrasing trying to pull a 100 lb german shepherd off the front lawn so he can do his duty. Then picking it up and carrying it back to the minivan. Totally Gross! But I do it. I wouldnt want to be the one to step in it. I remember carrying one home from Mt.Chocorua all the way back to Alfred Maine. Ok now that ive gross'd everyone out Im done. LOL :o)

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Who are you? Do I know you? :D:phttp://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum...cons/icon4.gif

Yeah Dad (number seven) this thread must sound really familiar to you. LOL. Do you have that emergency vet number posted on your kitchen wall for the next time were up? LOL....Yeah and your the one that makes fun of my disposable doggie poo poo bags. Next time Im clipping the carabina onto your pack. I hope you have gotten rid of all the porcupines in Abbot so that this never happens again. LOL.