Patches goes to the vet

Patches is a pretty energetic guy, sometimes recklessly so.  He had come back from exploring one day about 2 weeks ago with a pretty good gash a couple inches long on the underside of the bottom of his front leg (close to where that 5th toe is).  We think he must have gotten snagged going through one of the wire fences around.  The photo was taken a couple days later after the filler tissue started forming.

We have a good relationship with the State Vet in town, Immanuel, who told us to bring Patches in so he could stitch him up.  (And I wish we had a picture of him because he awesomely sported bold cowboy-style boots with his Vet uniform.)  He offered to do this free of charge just because he appreciates that we are volunteering to help his country!  (We love any time when locals insist on these acts of kindness since many days volunteers go without feeling appreciated at all.)  Also, Immanuel, like most State Vets, see far more cattle and other livestock than dogs, but he still felt comfortable enough to work on Patches.

Patches was a fighter with the anesthetic (Immanuel also said this area is very tender for dogs), but after he had enough in him the Vet was able to get the job done.  Unfortunately that night, even despite wrapping him up pretty good, Patches managed to take out 4 of the 5 stitches.  We ended up letting it be, and he's alright.

But thank Namibia for Immanuel.  He is a super great guy and veterinarian!

I admit that Patches does help teach us about "letting go" since there's not much we can do at our site to monitor him without massively taking away his freedom.  We don't mind learning these lessons now, since perhaps they will perhaps come in handy further some future day...