Where There’s A Quill...

There is nothing like a beautiful walk in the woods with your dog during an upstate New York autumn. The air is crisp, the leaves are beautifully colored, and your dog is having a great time running around. Life can’t get any better than this!

All of a sudden you hear the sounds of your dog chasing a squirrel, excited and barking loudly. The playful squirrel chase ends as a high-pitched cry rips out – your fun ends and panic takes over. Off you go in the direction of the noise, calling out between breaths. You reach the scene and find your dog with a face and mouthful of protruding porcupine quills.

Your panic continues, but the fear subsides and your anger sets in. “How could my dog be dumb enough to bite a slow moving pincushion!” Your mind then moves to the logistical question of getting your pet to the vet to get the quills pulled out.

So Fido gets a chemical dream and his new whiskers get pulled out. As designated driver for the dog (since he is too intoxicated to drive himself home from the vet), you again wonder why a dog would bite a creature such as a porcupine.

Dogs don’t seem to learn about porcupines. Many times the number of quills stuck in their face seems to increase with each encounter with the critters, as they try to bite them even harder.

I think I know why dogs go after porcupines. The answer is found in a fancy term called “anthropomorphism”, where human characteristics are attributed to animals. Our animals watch us eat, sleep, play, and communicate with each other. They have even been watching us stumble through life, making the same mistakes over and over again, and they have been learning from us. So next time a “porcupine” comes into your life, watch it walk away and don’t take a bite!