Friday, March 2, 2012

i love this blurred photo. lit by the fireplace. i took it a couple of weeks ago. the winter light that is swiftly moving into spring.
edgar dislikes this time of year. there is ice in the yard from the soft muddy ground freezing. and then wet snow on top of the frozen mud which is now frozen as well, creates a layer of slippery that makes edgar tense and shaky. his long legs unstable. he hates it. so last night after bringing him inside and seeing him shaking and uncomfortable on the sofa, tom suggested i cut his front nails.....they were getting long and it could make him feel unsteady. i agreed and started clipping away. dora and gala, my other great danes wouldn't let me near them with the nail clippers, fighting me with everything except their teeth. but edgar is complacent and allows me to nip off his nails with no struggle. i should do it more often, but i think i'm still scarred by dora and gala and i think it's going to be a huge ordeal. but after i'd smoothly made it through half his nails, i hit a bleeder. his foot (and the quilt on the couch) was immediately in a puddle of blood. he seemed unphased by it, he didn't yelp or pull away, but the blood wouldn't stop. we used corn starch to quell the bleeding. and it helped until he got up to eat. huge bear sized footprints of blood across the floors. i have a spot where a chair wore the finish from the floor. and now his blood is worked into that spot, the wood stained red. it made me think of 'the red violin'.
now he has a bowl of flour beside him to stop the bleeding if it starts again.

10 comments:

  1. Oh, I am sorry for your bleeding boy. And your floors. But, you did remind me of one of my favorite movies - The Red Violin. Don't you just love it?

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    1. it is a movie that has stayed with me over the years. the visuals are strong and i'm reminded of them often. i love it.

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  2. hmmm, reminds me that I have to do my cats's claws... and I wonder who will be bleeding after that :)

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    1. oh no....cats are hard!! i use the big great dane clippers on ours and i don't know if it makes it better or worse. be careful!!!

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  3. Oh Edgar.... This photo of his sweet vulnerable head makes me crave him!
    I hate cutting their nails - especially big strong Dane nails. If that happens again, call and I will run stop bleed to you. It works fast. Better still, we should get you some, txo

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    1. he'll let you wrap up with him tonight....lucky you! the bleeding has stopped! but it sounds like we do need some of that magic concoction

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  4. I know how you feel. I hated to clip my dog's nails. Usually I would have to chase her around our dining room table and when I finally got a hold of her and would start to clip a nail she would pull her paw away from me. It became such an ordeal that I finally took her to the vet and had them clip them for $5.00. It was worth the money! LOL Less stress for the both of us plus she couldn't get away from them. LOL

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    1. isn't it true......they usually fight it so hard. but the irony is that sweet edgar just looks at me and lets me clip away with no struggle. and then this happens!!!

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  5. I like the photo oof Edgar as well. I have a dog, too, though I have not fireplace. It looks so comfortable and the subtle light has a sign of spring,I also think.

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    1. i just went to your blog and saw your sweet little dog. aren't dogs the most wonderful gift!!!

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