Pets – Stormstown Dispatch

Dog Ear Protection

September 13, 2022October 7, 2022Bill1 Comment

Some dogs do not react well to the sounds of thunder and fireworks. This is true of our male terriers: Toby a Scottish Terrier, and Tripper, a West Highland Terrier. Tripper also doesn’t like the sounds from the TV during football games. We think it’s the official’s whistles and the crowd noises.

My wife, Marla, decided to try baby ear protectors. She put them on Tripper before a football game (see below), and he napped through some of the game.

Marla got another pair of ear protectors and put them them on Toby and Tripper during a thunderstorm. That seemed to work as well. They both napped during the thunderstorm.

Trisha Update

August 8, 2022August 12, 2022Bill1 Comment

It’s been nearly 8 months since we brought our rescue Scotty, Trisha, home. She’s come a long way in that time and has come out of her shell. She can be impish with us and our other dogs. She loves belly rubs and running in the back yard. She also enjoys going on walks to explore. She’s warmed up to our friends but can still be shy around strangers. Her coat has also become darker. She knows she hit the lottery.

Scotty-Porcupine Encounter

September 1, 2020September 1, 2020BillLeave a comment

On August 31, 2020, our Scotties, Toby and Tillie, had an unfortunate encounter with a porcupine.

Toby, our male Scotty came in from outside before bedtime and we immediately notices the quills in his snout. He was able to eat and drink so we decided to call the vet the first thing in the morning. He got through the night with no issues.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when I gave Tillie a chin scratch, that I was stabbed by two of the quills that were in her snout. The quills are quite sharp, even on the broken ends.

We were right not to try to remove them on our own since the quills are barbed. The barbs expand when they are exposed to body heat, are quite brittle and there is the risk of driving them deeper into the body.

The vet sedated both Scotties and removed the quills. Tilled had 15 embedded quills and Toby had 12. The vet also confirmed that they were porcupine quills. The dogs each received an analgesic and antibiotic.

Until last night, I had no idea that there are porcupines in our area. They live in a narrow range across central PA which includes our region. They are classified as rodents, are herbivores, mostly nocturnal, and are pests due to the damage they can inflict by chewing tree bark, leather and wood in their search for salt.