Fredo, I've a Feeling We're Not in Illinois Anymore

The move to Arizona my wife and I made last December has worked out exceedingly well. I don't belive that I could say that we have had a bad day here... until today.

This morning, my wife was walking our dog, Fredo. Now, we have been walking Fredo regularly since the move. On a few occasions, he has gotten a few cactus barbs in his paws or on his mouth. Taking them out was sometimes a bit of a challenge, but generally we could get the job done. However, there was a complication this morning. Fredo apparently was marking a type of cactus known as the Jumping Cholla. This particular plant has spines that appear to jump at people (and animals) that are in close proximity. The spines have barbs that dig into the skin and are very painful. Fredo found out firsthand as a spine attached to his belly and dug in with numerous barbs. When my wife attempted to take the spine off, Fredo started going nuts from the pain, jumping in a circle. Some of the barbs ended up attaching themselves to my wife.

I was just getting ready to shower and shave at home when my frantic wife called. I put some slippers on quickly and and jumped in my car to where they had walked -- a significant distance from the house. Trying to take the barbs out of the dogs paws and miscellaneous areas was difficult as the barbs cause a great deal of pain. My wife called some mobile emergency vets, but the one who responded said he couldn't come.

My wife took my car to get a muzzle for the dog for us to try to get the spine off him, but we knew there was no way we could with a worked up 80 pound pittie/lab. He would need to be sedated. He had been scared to walk, but later tried and was able. I made the long trip home with him. Unfortunately, the hot rocky road did quite a number on my feet.

My wife got home with the muzzle right after I got home. It became apparent that there was no way we were going to get the spine out without sedation. He was able to get into my wife's car, so off they went to a local animal hospital. A few hours and $300+ later, Fredo is back home. He's been a little less active than usual as some sedative still likely remains in his body.

And no - this would have never happened in Illinois. We still think it was a great decision to move west, however. One bad day out of about 130 works for us! 😄

Thanks for reading.