05-18-2013, 05:30 PM
[#0000FF]While I lived in Arizona I saw lots of critters suffering from "close encounters" with cholla cactus. Because they grab onto you so easily and pull loose from the parent plant, they are mistakenly called "jumping cactus". It seems as if they jump on to you.
The spines have little barbs that make them hold on firmly...and efforts to rub them off only get you stuck with more spines. I always carried long nose pliers and/or hemostats when out and about in Arizona.
One of my buddies down there found a young black lab lying beside the road, similarly covered with cholla branches. It was virtually paralyzed with pain and exhaustion. He was able to get it into a vet and get the spines removed and the wounds disinfected. Fortunately it had a collar with ID. Turns out it belonged to a young couple from Washington who had reported the dog missing after a hike in the desert while on vacation. They were happy to fly back and pick up their newly educated dog...and the dog was happy too.
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The spines have little barbs that make them hold on firmly...and efforts to rub them off only get you stuck with more spines. I always carried long nose pliers and/or hemostats when out and about in Arizona.
One of my buddies down there found a young black lab lying beside the road, similarly covered with cholla branches. It was virtually paralyzed with pain and exhaustion. He was able to get it into a vet and get the spines removed and the wounds disinfected. Fortunately it had a collar with ID. Turns out it belonged to a young couple from Washington who had reported the dog missing after a hike in the desert while on vacation. They were happy to fly back and pick up their newly educated dog...and the dog was happy too.
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