Tuesday, September 2, 2014

All's Well in Dachshundville

Miss Peaches
In general it's been a great summer here in the Hudson Valley. Not nearly as hot and stinking humid as usual.
We did have an incident that did not leave the dogs unscathed. There is a lot of woods behind our house, so it's not unusual to see an assortment of woodland creatures. Of course the dogs really like this, it gives them a reason to bark and occasionally chase said creatures. A few weeks ago they cornered a woodchuck. Unfortunately this was a really big one, bigger than even Peaches.It was a crazy standoff with 4 dachshunds barking and howling and 1 big woodchuck not to be taken down by the likes of these guys. My husband was going to dispatch the critter, but a gun that would shoot a proper bullet was locked up and couldn't be retrieved with the urgency of the situation. Then as quickly as it started it was over. Mr Chuck had managed to get away and it was very quiet again. Head count, everyone to the house. Only three dogs. That's bad. I quickly got Spaatz, Fooze and Sandie in the house. Here we are freaking out calling Peachy again. It was probably only a couple minutes, but I hate that feeling. Then before my husband was going to excavate a chuck hole I saw her on the other side of the yard. We figure when the chuck ran she went after it. Then it's apparent she's been injured. I took her straight into the laundry sink to wash up, along with Sandie who had blood on her although no wounds herself. Peach had a bad tear from the side of where her nostril curls around the side of her nose. I thought that was the worst of it, but upon a vet exam she had several punctures in her chest, one went clear through the skin. They shaved her chest, no stitches, but I had to keep the wounds clean and give her antibiotics. Rabies update just in case. Well, I'm happy to say she is all better, a scar on the side of her nose. Spaatz got a couple of scratches on his neck, Fooze, one puncture between his nose and lip and Sandie apparently didn't get close enough. Mr Big Chuck has not been seen since, and I hope he wised up. He's not welcome in Dachshundville.
Unfortunately, they'd do it all again