The Other White Dog returned walking almost jauntily and easily handling the steps up to the front door. But when he walked in, the WDA and I gasped. Where the bump on his leg had been was now shaved and bloody! TOWD was oblivious but we looked at Steve with shock.
"It was a foxtail embedded under his skin and festering," Steve began by way of an explanation. Apparently the weed seed had become trapped in Quinn's undercoat and was irritating him. So he rubbed his leg until it became chafed and the skin broken. The foxtail migrated to the open wound and slipped under the skin.
Dr. Julia opened and drained the infection and administered an antibiotic cream, which we are to continue twice a day until it heals. She said it was probably quite painful and that Quinn (Quinnie-Quinn, as she calls him) would probably be walking better just from the removal of the foxtail and release of the infection. He should be fine, but it was a graphic reminder of serious stories you hear of pups who get foxtails lodged in their eardrums, or under the gumline, or even caught beneath the eyelid and, as a result, face major consequences. Quinn was lucky.
Now that I am pretty much recovered from my bout of summer sickies, I would like to thank you all for your well wishes and concern. It made me smile (when not much did) and gave me something to focus on other than the seemingly endless food smells that fill our home and neighborhood. I had the best nursing staff imaginable and a very patient Steve to keep things running...and one bossy little White Dog who thinks SHE knows what is best...and sometimes does!