Well i have lived in CO for almost 16yrs and Sunday was the 2nd time i have ever seen a Porcupine, unfortunately Finn found it before me We were hiking up the middle of a narrow stream (leashed) and Finn was doing his normal head poking in the tall green flowers and Jack was minding his own just walking when Finn started to do a chewing move and i though he caught something! Turns out his face was filled with quills and the damn dog was going in for more! i pulled him away and over to the other side of the bank and tried my best to pull out what i could from his foot and mouth but not much luck with a husky that did not want to be held down and wanted to go back for more! after what seemed like forever i realized this was a job for a vet and we hiked back almost 2 miles and 1200ft down to the car. I googled the closest vet as it was 7am on a sunday and found one 40min away. they put him under and removed over 50 quills not counting the ones i had taken out. poor guy was out cold most of yesterday but has had no swelling or redness. he is one tough dog.

just before it happened, the area we were hiking in


we got back to the car, you can't see them but they were on upper and lower part of his mouth on the inside roof of his mouth, and his front leg



all cleaned up


lets just say the vet bill was $$$$ and i hope to not have that again

he took a walk this morning and his one pad was still a little sore today, i might soak it tonight. over all he seems better, but doubt a lesson was learned

Yeah porcupines are expensive. My cheapest was 225.

When I brought Ami back after the last batch, still on his anaesthesia mishegoss, he was hell bent on getting out and finding that damn porcupine.

So glad Finn came through the anesthesia well. That's always the part the worries me.

I'm glad we don't have porcupines. We have groundhogs that can kill a dog, but not porcupines.

Poor boy! I’m glad to hear he’s okay and I hope he has a speedy recovery!

How big are your groundhogs?!!? Ami's killed a couple. Just not the one snacking in my garden this year

Poor finn. Ive never seen a porcupine in this area of Colorado and i can only imagine what squirt would do if her face was full of quills. One area i go rock hunting for geodes and calcite has a very nasty beaver that squirt has had several run ins with. And then at a forest service shooting range last year with my cousin we got attacked by a badger. It bit squirt twice before i clubbed it to death with my gun. I seriously hope to never run into a porcupine. Our area did put out a warning that we have a mountain lion that is actively hunting peoples pets.

What trail/area where you so i know not to ever go there

amymeme wrote:

How big are your groundhogs?!!? Ami's killed a couple. Just not the one snacking in my garden this year

Can be up to around 20 pounds. They are very strong and can be very aggressive if a dog is fool enough to try to follow into their den. Had a cattle dog way back in day that went into a groundhog den. The groundhog grabbed his face and preceded to effectively rip it off. Blinded the dog and tore his muzzle open severely. He had to be put down. This was a 50 pound cattle dog. Small dogs don't stand a chance if they get grabbed by a groundhog that has decided it isn't going to put up with them.

Lostmaniac wrote:

What trail/area where you so i know not to ever go there

we were a ways from you, ruby gulch trailhead off I-70, clear creak area, 1 hrish from denver. only other place i have seen one was at loveland ski resort a few yrs ago, which is not far from where this happened. Finn got the cone last night as he is licking his leg that they shaved to put the needle in.

thats crazy about the groundhogs!

amymeme wrote:

How big are your groundhogs?!!? Ami's killed a couple. Just not the one snacking in my garden this year

@amymeme I've seen what some folks call ground hogs that I'd call a badger - similarities until you start talking about defenses.

Aye, poor Finn ... I haven't had a dog get into a porcupine since I was a teenager in NY but then where I've been living there aren't any (I don't think).

Yeah i like to avoid the denver/multi city whatever you call it. We had a disaster at the raddison convention center when spider flipped out over the elevator.

Clear creek.. is that where the homeless issue is or the algae issue or the way too many people issue? Its been on the news lately

Lostmaniac wrote:

Clear creek.. is that where the homeless issue is or the algae issue or the way too many people issue? Its been on the news lately

to many homeless in Denver taking over the front of a school, algae is at a few of our state parks and in the city, Clear creek was the first area to ban hiking and activities on their roads during the closure. its a pretty big area just outside of the city

Yeah not so familiar with the denver area except where the old va was lightshade dispensary on holly and i70 and the 285 route in. Not really any reason to go except the va. lots of parks blm and national forest here within a few miles of my house

Lol! Needles in his face and still as happy as can be

Been there, glad everyone is OK. The first encounter never does seem to deter them the next time around.

Poor old Finn. Trust a husky to go back for more!

Gillian