Benji Survives Bobcat Attack in Rockwall

Those of us that love animals of all kinds (wild and domesticated) love to see nature up close and personal in our own backyards. While Bobcats rarely attack pets (they prefer rabbits, squirrels and rats - Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife) they are not rare in our urban neighborhoods anymore.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife have a Facebook page dedicated to the DFW area that can be found here. https://www.facebook.com/DFWUrbanWildlife/photos_stream

We even caught these photos in our own backyard in Garland, Texas the year a Bobcat was feeding kittens further up the creek. We watched our "squirrel count drastically decrease from our back window" that year.

Little Benji (a rescue from a local shelter) met up with a bobcat in his own yard in Rockwall. His pet parents searched frantically after having him snatched from his yard about 20 feet from Mr Kirk. Dad said, I heard a hiss and saw a flash and then he was gone.

After they returned home trying to resign themselves that he would not be seen again, they found Benji wandering in the front yard. The only obvious injury at the time being a cut on the top of his head. They returned Benji to the Animal Hospital of Rowlett a few days later when Benji just wasn't breathing right. Sedation revealed further injuries to the inside of Benji's mouth and soft palate. Apparently the bobcat tried to carry Benji away by his skull! The cut on the top of the head was the tip of the iceberg.

GRAPHIC CONTENT!!! *********warning**********     In the next image you can see the breathing tube to the left of the photo with the blue stripe and the tongue in the bottom of the picture. There is a swelling in the soft palate (red oval and arrow) and bruising below it. Benji was a very lucky dog indeed to not have more extensive injuries. He has continued to recover in his dedicated owner's home in Rockwall and is expected to make a full recover.

We would encourage all pet owners to walk within 3 feet of your pets at all times (especially the small ones) !!  Letting our pets out to eliminate without supervision is just asking for trouble - even if for just a few seconds. It is a tragedy of opportunity that we can't really blame on the wildlife for seizing despite the obvious heart-wrenching result if their target is our beloved pet.

Meanwhile Benji is glad to be snug at home in his forever home.

Benji

Grass Awns Making an Early Presence in North Texas Lawns - Protect Your Pet

Another victim of "grass awns" today.... It seems that some of these guys have already started to dry and are attacking pets again. While in the Western United States, pets and veterinarians deal with these on a daily basis, we only see them occasionally.  Most commonly, they affect pets' interdigital spaces.

But they can literally show up ANYWHERE as seen in this patient today in which they were in her armpits.... OUCH!!

Sometimes we are able to pull them out easily in the exam room and sometimes a short surgical procedure is indicated to locate them.

These photos are from my iPhone of the awns after they were removed.

I honestly don't know what these awns look like in the "field" even though I have a strong interest in gardening and plants in general. I did find the below website that details those found in the West and given the common characteristics of grass, I bet ours look similar.

http://www.csupomona.edu/~jcclark/dogs/foxtails.html

http://www.meanseeds.com/the-bad-grass-list/

If you have time to research the topic, try a web search for "MRI, grass awns, dog" for an entertaining few minutes....

Animal Hospital of Rowlett