She's a survivor...

So Willow has this thing about cats. She HATES THEM! Which is fine by me, because I also severly dislike cats. My lack of love for felines is mostly because of a ridiculously major allergy to their kind, but also due to their prissy independent attitudes. I don't like that cats do what they want when they want. I like my pets to be social, friendly, and happy to see me!

Anyway, our neighbors have like 4 million cats, which all wander my yard throughout the day. (Don't EVEN get me started on the ridiculous fact that there are leash laws for dogs, but somehow cats are allowed to wander freely wherever they please.) Of course Willow has made it her mission in life to rid them of the property, so when she spotted one on the back fence this morning she ran at it with lightning speed. I laughed hysterically as the cat almost fell off the fence, but was quickly distracted by a yelping Willow who had stopped mid-chase to sit down and nurse an injured paw. She wouldn't move but was trying to lift the hurt paw, so I headed out into the grass to pick her up. I assumed she had just kind of rolled over it wrong as she sped across the yard, so I brought her back into the house where she hobbled around for a minute as I scurried to get out the door for water aerobics. Something made me stop though, and think that I should grab a towel and dry off her paws. The grass was wet and it had been cold outside this morning, but let's be honest my OCD concerns were really about her getting on the couch with wet paws.
As I toweled her off I noticed a big red bloody spot just about where her paw meets her chest. I immediately thought of the not cool snake that attempted to live in my backyard this summer and started screaming to get my roommate to help me look at the wound. I called the vet right away and let them know I needed to bring her in, and we hopped in the car for help! Willow was a little shaky in the car so I started to worry that maybe it was a poisonous snake, but upon arrival the vet assured me her heart beat and temperature were indicative of a stable pup. A little fur shaving showed a wound very similar to a snake bite, but suggested that the snake had probably held on a bit as it was more of a tear rather than the usual dotted strike wound. I'm wierd and gross so of course I snapped a quick picture of the wound before she was whisked off to the back room for cleaning.

A few antibiotic and pain medication shots later, she was cleared to go home and rest. She got a bottle of the good stuff to go in case the bite starts to hurt later, and luckily she was invited to K-Crown Pet resort where my parents can observe and pet her while I work.

So, although I missed water aerobics and lost $100 out of my bank account, we're all ok. Except for the snake...you can guarantee if he shows his face again he'll get a little bite from my shovel!

Here snakey, snakey, snakey...