Defender of the Realm

You might remember a few weeks back that Sammie

had a tussle with a fox that he found in the turkey house.

One good shake by Sammie, and the fox had a broken neck.

Exit - one fox.

I know... it's sad... but, he was eating my chickens... which is even sadder.

The good news is, we have had no more chicken pilfering since 

said fox met his maker.

Thank you, Sammie, Defender of the Realm!

The bad news... foxes carry all sorts of nasty parasites that can affect dogs...

like scabies and mange.

Dr. Becky pointed that fact out to me when I told her that Sam

had effectively taken care of our fox problem.

I felt certain that said fox was not infected with any nasty creatures,

as he was actually a very lovely (but dead) fox.

I know, because I examined him as I buried him (in the compost pile).

Still, the potential for creepy crawlies sat in the back of my psyche.

And then, one day last week we noticed that the hair over Sam's right ear was missing.

We called Dr. Becky, and she stopped by to look at Sam.

Apparently, the lack of hair on his ear was secondary to an ear infection,

and he had spent the day rubbing the hair off of his sore ear.

She gave us meds for the infection and for the irritation on his ear flap,

and suggested that we treat him for scabies.... just in case.

[ I shivered with disdain.... please... no scabies!]

Normally we treat our dogs on a monthly basis with Frontline (for ticks)

and a heart worm preventative.

This month she suggested we skip both of those and use Revolution...

a topical medication that takes care of all parasites.

She also suggested that we treat the other dogs and all the cats as well.

Remember... Sammie is the Pied Piper of the cats...

they all love him and rub up against him every chance they get.

So, yesterday we had a revolution and everyone was dosed with 

anti-parasitic drugs.

We've had no symptoms of scabies... but still...

and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Right?

Of course, we had to catch both of the Beatrixes... as they are identical

(even down to those few white hairs on their chest)

and it is absolutely impossible to tell who has been medicated unless they are

both done at the same time.

Catching them is not really a problem... at least not this time.

However, once we finished dosing them, it was obvious that we were now out of the 

circle of trust.

Looks like we're going to have to "treat" ourselves back into their good graces again.

I am hoping that this is the end of this story,

and that Sammie just remains Protector of the Realm...

and not Infector of the Farm.

We were treated to another beautiful Autumn day yesterday.

The sun shone gloriously... thankfully clearing up the frost from the previous night.

Everyone seemed to enjoy basking in the sun's rays...

though the temperature stayed in the mid-60's all day.

I'm not sure what physiologically lives inside that little point on the top of the guineas' heads,

but I always imagine it's their brain... (they're not the sharpest tool in the shed).

So, now you know to what I am referring when I talk about my own little guinea brain!

Handsome, no?

No.

Unique, yes!

And here we are once again at the end of another week.

Aside from dinner out tonight (Friday) with friends and a soccer game or two

on Saturday (Tyler)... our weekend should be a quiet one.

I hope to finish a few sewing projects...

and start a few more.

Have a lovely weekend, yourself...

we'll chat more on Monday.