Pip in a Poke

I arrived home to find Pip in trouble. Matt let him out and he found a porcupine to torment - only, Pip was the one tormented. His chin and jowls were covered with quills. Matt tried to hold him while I pulled them out but no deal. Pip, who is the size of a beagle, not a Jack Russell, is very strong and didn't want to be bothered. Matt had his hand on the phone to call the vet but I told him about my teacher colleague who spent $600 getting the vet to take quills out of her Jack. He put down the phone and said, "I will hold him!" I tied a strip of fabric around his snout and asked Matt to lie on top of him on the bed. Instead of pliers I used my tweezers to pull those buggers out. They must have a barb on the tip because they are the devil to pull. Pip snarled and whined and managed to wiggle under Matt (who is well over 200 lbs)so we had to reposition several times. What a half hour after work that was! I gave Pip a shot of penicillin and warned him not to do that again. Pip ran and hid in the dirty laundry until he heard pots and pans rattling at dinnertime. It seems to me that no porcupine would be wandering around in a snow storm, and that Pip most likely went into a hole to find the poor animal. While snuggling with him on the sofa after chores I felt another quill on his lip. I tried to get my tweezers without him seeing them, but no deal. Pip disappeared.