Thursday, April 23, 2009

Well, Dakota almost died this morning.   I woke at 6am to dogs barking out front.  Unusual -- they normally bark out by the side drive.   I panicked to see that Xerxes horn had gotten hooked into Dakota's collar and apparently they had both been struggling to get loose from one another. Dakota was prone and looked lifeless.   Panicked, I had to stay calm and smooth or Xerxes would run from me, further strangling Dakota.  I got to them and had to talk soothingly to keep Xerxes still while I ducked his head down and guided his horn backward out of the collar.  Released, Dakota barely breathed.  His eyes were hooded and glazed and spittle dribbled from his nose and mouth.  His face was scraped and bleeding and his legs were straight out and his whole body trembling.  He was wet from being dragged around through the dew.  I figured there was a good chance his neck was broken or his throat too crushed to recover. I covered him with my bath robe to warm him and stayed next to him, talking to him and petting him in the early morning sun. Twenty minutes later, he got up but was still dazed and maybe brain damaged, I thought. An hour later, he followed me to the barn to put Benny away from the round pen.  And now he seems himself again! What a relief!