Prickly Encounters

​We’ve already had several patients this spring who couldn’t resist the urge to investigate a porcupine. If your dog gets quilled, your first reaction may to be try to remove the quills. Please don’t! Porcupine quills are designed to break easily when pulled and can remain deeply embedded in tissues, causing infection and further pain, if proper removal isn’t performed. In the photos below, you’ll notice a quill may be partially or completely buried in the tissue while the rest has broken off, making it difficult to find and extract. The best thing you can do for your pet is get him to a veterinarian as soon as possible after he’s been quilled. The longer the quills sit, the more difficult they are to remove.