So, I took Scoutypants to the vet today to find out what was in her eye.
I should have guessed. It was a foxtail.
But, in the 13 years that I’ve been here, I’ve never had a foxtail in any part of any of my dogs. Lucky, I guess. In fact, although I had heard of ‘foxtails’, I had never really identified which of the many sticky plants it was.
Here is a foxtail:
SCOUTYPANT’S DRAMA
Poor girl. Last night after dinner, she came inside frantically swiping at her eye. It was closed shut and angry.
I knew she had something in there but she refused to let me near her face.
I did my best to console her – and I was able to flush her eye using a washcloth. But, nothing came out. I think the cold water felt good but it didn’t fix it.
My best solution was to let her sleep with me which was exciting to her and kept her mind off of her face. I figured I’d call the vet first thing.
… which I did. Our appointment was at 2:30 today. We were out by 3pm. Seriously. This is how common foxtails are to my amazing vet, Dr. Mario (previously my equine vet until he crossed over to small animal. Sigh. I loved him.).
This is Scoutypants last night. There was definitely something in her left eye. But, she wouldn’t let me near it except to put a cold washcloth and flush it. She liked that.
She seemed to have resigned herself to the pain… I let her sleep with me on my blowup bed (all the large furniture has been moved out of the Grass Valley house but I’m here with the horses). Hopefully the vet would see us first thing in the morning.
THE PROCEDURE
Dr. Mario (my fav) got in there and saw the foxtail right away. He removed it and all of its pieces then stained the eye to show me the scratches to her cornea. He medicated her and voila! Done.
Scout was overjoyed! Her wiggly dance was nonstop.
Then we decided it was time to have her nails clipped.
They asked if I wanted to participate in the nail clipping experience, but I knew better. As they whisked her away to do the deed “its easy” they said. Heh Heh. It was about 2 minutes later that I heard her wailing. So, I took this video.
I could hear Scouty fussing – well, the entire place could hear her fussing – so I started the video in my camera and then sneaked back to watch the goings on. It took 4 people to trim her nails. Two to hold her and two trimming the front and back feet respectively. Phew! Done! Foxtails and Long Nails – Be Gone!
My fav vet, Dr. Mario, checking her eye after removing the foxtail and staining it.
The culprit. I cannot imagine having that HUGE thing in my eye. OUCH!
Click on the image to watch the video of Miss Drama Queen Scoutypants. She was howling in pathetic rapture. She was not hurt at all. In fact, when she got up, she wigglydanced all over and gave everyone love.
THE AFTERMATH
After our visit, Scouty was crashed out in the truck. So much relief! And then she got to have a special meal and some ice cream. Life was good. Except when I told her she could no longer sleep on the bed. You can see her face after I told her. I may still give in. It was so much fun having her on the bed! Hubby would never agree to it at home, so I think Scout and I will pretend we are camping and do it again!
Here she is, totally asleep in the truck driving home.
After I told her that she couldn’t sleep with me. Look at that face! I’m pretty sure I will break down and let her camp with me again. After all, it isn’t a real bed, it is only a blowup bed. It is like we’re camping!
LAST CHANCE TO HELP THE HUNG HORSES! – and an update, plus what you can do to express your outrage in this case!
Since the Memorial Day weekend kept most people away from their work and computers (a good thing), I wanted to give one more day for us all to donate. To read the horrific story, click here.
Just a refresher, Cider was the TWH stallion who was hung from the rafters of the barn because his feet had grown too long… He has come a long way in a few weeks but he still has a horrible skin infection, poor vitality due to malnutrition and emotional issues. Still, he loves to be groomed and is making huge progress.
Candy we had not heard about because they weren’t sure she would make it… but she is doing much better! Candy was hung and had horrible sores under her too tight halter, on her hips from strap rubs and on her legs. She had awful skin conditions and malnutrition, on top of the horrible emotional trauma of not being touched or seeing sunlight in 3 years.
LAST DAY TO DONATE, CLICK HERE! All donations are 100% tax deductible. Thank you!
This is Cider… He was hung and in horrible shape, but he is a survivor!
This is Candy, another mare who was suspended. Candy was one of the worst with sores all under her tight halter, on her hips from the straps and on her legs. She survived… and is finally putting on some weight. Her sores are healing. Soon, she will be able to go outside and be free again!
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO EXPRESS YOUR OUTRAGE IN THIS CASE (taken directly from the Bright Futures Farm FB page:
Bright Futures Farm added 4 new photos.
**THIS** IS WHY I DUBBED THIS HORRIFIC PLACE THE HANGING BARN.
PLEASE MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. JUSTICE NEEDS TO BE SERVED.
Sheriff Rex Munsee COULD have issued eleven citations. He only issued six. He told me in a text that DA Mark Aaron told him to only issue five. Yet, DA Mark Aaron told me in an email it is up to Munsee to determine how many citations to issue and what the charges are. Draw your own conclusions.
Please continue to make your calls and write your letters. All contact information is below. The horses need your support.
1. Write a letter to the editor to the local papers about this (contact info at the end). Flood them. You can’t harass, threaten, speak non factually, or they won’t post it. Don’t rant. You’ll sound like a crazy and lose their interest in the first few seconds. Be professional or it won’t make a difference. You can say that the Clarion county sheriff’s office has the legal power to issue six more citations in the Ralph Smail case according to PA Statute 5511c. Then you can share your thoughts as to why you feel they should – personally, it’s simply because the animals were treated cruelly under 5511c and THE LAW provides for citations to be issued.
2. Call the Sheriff’s office and demand six more citations. Number is 814.226.7611
3. Call the DA’s office and demand six more citations. Number is 814-226-4423
4. Contact the National Sheriff’s Association and report that the law is not being upheld in Clarion county regarding this incident. They are asking you to send an email to Chelsea Rider
at: crider@sheriffs.org explaining what the issue is and what we would like done then they will file 1 complaint for everyone.
5. File a complaint with the PA State Ethics Committee regarding the Sheriff. You can access their complaint form at: www.ethics.pa.gov
6. Call the Judicial Conduct Board of PA concerning the judicial conduct of the DJ Duane Quinn in the case. There are questions about huge discrepancies in bail amounts, in a recent on line article by ExploreClarion dated 5.20.16. Their number is 717.234.7911
7. Call the State Attorney General’s office at 717.787.3381and inform them of the conduct of our elected officials in Clarion county.
8. Write a letter to the Editor or Contact the local TV station and ask them to do a story.
Clarion News: www.theclarionnews.com
Explore Clarion: www.exploreclarion.com
The Derrick: www.thederrick.com
The Butler Eagle: www.butlereagle.com
The Leader Times: www.thepaperboy.com
The Post Gazette: www.post-gazette.com
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review: triblive.com
The Erie Times News: www.goerie.com
The Cochranton Courier: www.theareashopper.com
WTAE TV www.wtae.com
KDKA TV pittsburgh.cbslocal.com
WIIC TV www.wpxi.com
WJET TV www.yourerie.com
These five horses died because of cruelty and neglect. I, personally, include the word torture because there was water and food available but not provided. Good Lord there were at least forty bales of hay within fifty feet of that barn I all a prison for at least the last three years. There was enough pain to sling them but not ask for help.
There was enough concern over being caught that bucket loads of manure were being removed from the barn, but the horses still were not being cared for. If these photos disturb you – make a difference. The law is in place to provide justice for the six that survived – only because they were discovered in time. Make the Sheriff uphold the law. Write the editor of some of the local papers and make some phone calls.
Oh, and adding… the DJ, Duane Quinn, valued these lives at just $50 each. He could have valued them at either $750 each or 90 days in jail each – he chose the minimum penalty. And, update 5.23.16 someone just left me an anonymous message (always love those) who told me that Quinn and Smail are next door neighbors. Draw your own conclusions. Duane Quinn lives on the same road we took the horses from.
You can see marks on the back legs of the black horse from having to place his weight in the sling/ropes because he was too sore to stand.
