Close Encounters of the Wild Kind

I had one of those days today I would prefer to forget! Finnegan got into it with a groundhog that's been tormenting both of us for weeks! I don't know if he wanted to kill it, torment it until it died, or play with it! He had dozens of chances to kill it :( but he didn't, so I suspect it was one of the latter two. The stewpid groundhog had several chances to make a break for it but chose not to. The problem was I couldn't get them apart!!

I started out calmly but forcefully calling, "Finnegan, come." No response! He was circling that GH at 100 miles an hour. I picked up the closest weapon I could find - a pooper scooper (I kid you not) , determined to knock the GH out or kill it myself. I missed and broke the silly scooper in half. By this time, I was trying every command: NO! Drop it! Leave it! Come! I couldn't grab him because he was moving too fast and was entangled with the GH. Basically, I suck as a survivalist! I had my cell phone so I tried calling several friends, thinking if someone arrived FInn would run to check them out, but no one was home. Scared the animal could be rabid, I dialed 911. I told the dispatcher I wasn't sure they handled this kind of a call but that my dog was in a stand off with a GH I thought might be rabid and that I couldn't get them apart! By now, this had now been going on for over half an hour! He assured me they did and he would send an officer right away. Then he asked me, "Who's winning?" Since I barely had a voice left, I didn't find this funny!!

Apparently, FInnegan isn't much of a survivalist either. The GH would snap and Finn would bop it on the head! The GH would flip over and Finn would grab it by the tail and flip it back! I was turning into a crazy woman! Finn is not treat motivated but he LOVES the car and his WALKS so I ran and got the car, drove it around, and opened the back door and yelled WALK, Finnegan! THAT got his attention... for 2 seconds. You could see he struggled with the decision, then turned back to the GH.

Finally, the officer arrived and after looking over the situation, said, first, I had to get the dog and GH apart. Huh???? But thankfully, when FInn saw a stranger approaching, he finally came running!!! Usually, I believe in live and let live. But after almost an hour of this fiasco, I begged her to shoot the GH. Apparently, that's against the rules :( So was borrowing her gun, to shoot it myself :)

I checked Finn over and found no bites or blood, just some missing tufts of hair. He smelled awful, so I bathed him. I just gave him a rimadyl tonight because he's so sore he can barely walk. Is there anything else I should look out for? He has both his rabies and lepto vaccines. His face was covered with saliva but I didn't see any breaks in the skin. Of course, his coat is thick.

Tonight, I need a drink, a condominium, and maybe my money back for all those training classes :( I'm just glad he's ok, but I hate seeing him in so much pain. BTW, we were outside taking pictures for the Nov. assignment when this all began. I had camera in hand. Sometimes FInn will run to the camera when he hears the beeping. I didn't even know what I shot until I threw the memory card into the computer tonight. Camilla, I CAN shoot with one hand holding a poop scoop in the other!

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl and Finnegan on November 4, 2013 at 3:51pm

LOL Should I be worried about my photography obsession? Finn has a strong prey drive too, but he doesn't seem to know what to do when he corners something. He barks and barks, circles, and nips at it. Usually he's happy just to chase it the edge of the yard and then he comes running back...quite pleased with himself. I think the problem with this guy was that he didn't run :(

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Permalink Reply by Lori, Quincy & Frankie on November 4, 2013 at 7:52am

These pictures are awesome-but the ordeal is frightening! Talk about worth a thousand words-yikes...Good for you for keeping your cool. Hope Finn is better this morning.

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl and Finnegan on November 4, 2013 at 3:35pm

He's doing better, Lori. Since my screaming was so ineffective, I think getting behind the camera helped me to calm down for a minute. Then I resumed screaming :)

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Permalink Reply by Leslie and Halas on November 4, 2013 at 8:51am

Great pics, but that sounds scary! I hope his vaccinations protect him against any scratches or bites.

I live in a condo, but that doesn't save us from critter problems. I have a tiny yard, so I take Halas on walks a few times a day. There's a huge field behind our condo, and we see critters and evidence of critters (poop) all the time. We mostly see deer and sometimes fox, but I'm sure there are possums, skunks, ground hogs, and moles around, too. In fact, Halas' routing stool sample from his yearly checkup showed giardia (luckily, Halas isn't showing any symptoms), and I'm sure it's from snacking on critter poop on our walks. He's on a leash, and I watch him closely, but sometimes it's hidden by the grass, so he's chewing before I even see anything. So a condo might not solve all of your problems, depending on your options for walking and exercising Finn.

I hope you enjoyed that drink!

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl and Finnegan on November 4, 2013 at 3:51pm

The drink AND the chocolate did the trick! I may need more chocolate though, as I reconsider the condo idea lol.

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl and Finnegan on November 4, 2013 at 4:06pm

Update: Finn went to the vet this afternoon. He's still pretty sore so he's supposed to rest for the next few days and stay on the anti-inflammatory. The vet thought a rabies booster was in order. 10 day watch period for a dog with shots --6 months for a dog without. It's rare but the vet said a dog could get rabies from the saliva without an actual bite. Thankfully she didn't find any puncture, claw or bite marks either. That's pretty amazing considering how long these two tangled. I can only say Finn's had lots of practice avoiding Song's swats. She told me if I found the ground hog dead, I should bag it and have it tested. (Yeah, right.)

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Permalink Reply by Janie, Jackson and Jilly on November 4, 2013 at 4:59pm

Thanks for the update, I was wondering how Finn was doing. Good news on no bite marks, hopefully he'll be feeling better soon. Jack and Jilly send Finn their love and high 5 for a job well done!

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Permalink Reply by F, Calla & Luca on November 4, 2013 at 5:31pm

That is interesting Cheryl about the booster. When had Finn been vaccinated last? Glad that Finn had no wounds. I think keeping him on leash or long line is a good idea for now.