Ouch!

I’m on the way down through France to meet Penny who is flying to Alicante. We will spend a week on the Spanish coast. She will then fly back, and I’ll drive home.

But the reason for this post is that I had a bit of an adventure in The Pyrenees yesterday. About half way into a hike I heard someone calling. It turned out to be a shepherd calling to the massive Pyrenean Mountain Dog that was fast approaching me. It barked around me for a bit and, being used to dogs, I wasn’t too bothered. But then the tone of the barking changed and the next thing I know she had sunk her teeth into my calf muscle. I mean sunk in. I felt them sinking in as if in slow motion!

The dog then backed off but I stayed strangely calm as I waited while Milan the shepherd ran down to me. Not much point in panicking. He was so upset and so kind, driving me back and forward to pharmacies and doctors.

Needed six stitches on the wounds. Rabies hasn’t been seen in France for years and only specialist units deal with it and then usually for people returning from elsewhere. It was a working dog, not a rabid stray so I’ll be fine.

Sitting waiting for a tetanus shot as I write this.

What an adventure!

12 thoughts on “Ouch!”

  3. Snap! I was walking in Provence a few years ago. Passed a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Three large nondescript hounds approached noisily. Like you I’m used to dogs so not a big deal. Got past the house, all fine, then one of them came up and bit me on the calf. It did hurt. Hospital for the rest of the day.

    Hope you repair soon

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    1. Snap indeed. We had three Rottweilers run at us many years ago in the high Pyrenees. They skidded to a halt in front of us then walked off but not before we both had the fright of our lives.

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      1. No problem. Too many tentacles to keep track of. You probably know I had a pacemaker implanted in my chest almost seven months ago. The Bradycardia onset was sudden and devastating. I couldn’t walk from the bedroom to the kitchen without being winded and having to sit down and catch my breath. Now that that problem is pretty much dealt with, my auto-immune skin condition (Granuloma Annulare) seems to be causing arthritic-like swelling and pain in my hands, knees, wrists, and ankles. As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say, “If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.” I’m pushing my doctors to get a grip and get me a diagnosis. There’s no “cure” for GA and they can’t seem to figure out what kind, if any, of arthritis I might be experiencing. Today is much better than it’s been for weeks. I’m too young to be shuffling like an alte kaker.

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  5. Oh no! How awful is this to happen out on a hike but glad that you got help and that bloke helped out. I’m not a fan of dogs especially out in the fields where they’re protecting livestock. Have a speedy recovery!

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