I used to be a zookeeper working with N.A. porcupines. I got my hand in the wrong place one day and had about 10 quills driven into the web of my thumb. They hurt like you wouldn't believe to pull back out--and with pliers. It felt like all the capillaries were coming out with it! The tiny backward-pointing scales on the black tips cause the quill to dig forward only into the flesh, so if the quill is not pulled out it will burrow all the way through the dog. Some quills are large and obvious, but others are tiny and barely more than the black tip. Tedious work.
It was, for the porcupine.
ReplyDeletePoor thing!
ReplyDeleteOh the vet bill on this one, poor thing will have to be anesthetized to remove that many quills.
ReplyDeleteOnce the dog is asleep, is it very hard to get rid of them?
ReplyDeleteI used to be a zookeeper working with N.A. porcupines. I got my hand in the wrong place one day and had about 10 quills driven into the web of my thumb. They hurt like you wouldn't believe to pull back out--and with pliers. It felt like all the capillaries were coming out with it! The tiny backward-pointing scales on the black tips cause the quill to dig forward only into the flesh, so if the quill is not pulled out it will burrow all the way through the dog. Some quills are large and obvious, but others are tiny and barely more than the black tip. Tedious work.
ReplyDelete