1. Happy Ishmael, out for a run a little after dawn on Monday. Maybe there will be bunnies! There will definitely be lots and lots of wet grass to roll in.
2. Sad Ish, at this special referral-only emergency clinic an hour and a half away, where they have specialized tools my vet does not possess. He was at my vet from 8:00 AM to noon, then we went straight to the referral clinic in Chesterfield, where we waited for four hours because they see patients by triage, not by appointment.
3. The three-pronged, inch-and-a-half grass stem, which was so deep in his ear it took those special tools to get it. Plus Ish had to be anesthetized to get the grass out.
4. Tired, tired Ish, practically in a coma on the way home.
5. Ish this morning, modeling a snood.
Normally snoods are used to protect the ears right before a show, or many people use them to make sure the dog’s ears stay clean during meals. Until the memory of our Monday fades, however, Ish can wear this one while out for a run. It’s the second time this happened to him — the last time my vet got the grass out herself — but, seriously, I just do not want to worry about this again for a while!
The sole plus of the day: I read an entire (short) book while waiting at the clinic. It was SUNBOLT by Intisar Khanani. Not bad — I think I’ll go on with the second book pretty soon.
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Every spring and summer our local vets post warnings about a weed called foxtail … apparently officially Hordeum murinum L.mouse barley, aka ripgut brome.
Your grass in the image looks a bit like it. I’m glad Ish is ok. Grasses can be nasty.
Foxtail sounds like THE WORST. I see it is most abundant in California and the west, but the pictures I found on Google do look awfully familiar. I apologize in advance to any innocent grasses I destroy this year because they look something like Foxtail grass.
The yard and the fenced area where the dogs run loose (the arboretum) are mowed and mostly kept in fairly decent shape. So hopefully even if Foxtail is around in our area, my guys won’t encounter any of the evil dried seeds.