The Crying Game III

This yearling ewe is the second victim of the dog attack; she almost died even though her original injuries were less severe than those of 313.  I found her two days after the attack.  The body areas, where I'd clipped the wool away,  were covered  with maggots, 1000's of them.  The flies found her before I did; they are attracted to wounds beginning to heal.  I didn't see her when I looked the flock over on the day of the attack; the bites were superficial and hidden by her wool.

She was bitten in the four places you see iodine: the upper flank, the belly, the hock and the dock.  I noticed her during the daily, mid-paddock flock check with my herding dog Poem; she didn't get up when I walked toward her—something was wrong—she looked at me helplessly, then I saw the flies around her dock.  Taking hold of her, I parted the wool over her tail; I saw several maggots, then more squirming away from the light.  I detest flies. Treatment for fly strike is to clip all the wool away from the affected area exposing the maggots, bathe the area in peroxide, dress the wounds with iodine and administer a fly repellant—this took almost 2 hours—I was surprised how far from the dock (where the flies first laid their eggs) the maggots had spread under the wool. 

Being alone and having no tailgate on my farm truck, I took her in the cab with me and drove her back to the special care area with my free arm around her neck in a loose headlock in case she jumped around.  But weakened by the ordeal, she went along for the ride; the truck smelled of iodine.

Dogs play with sheep, they chase them and bite them—sometimes ripping the flesh away to expose tendons and bones—and before finishing off the sheep, the dog will leave because it's bored or hungry and go home for a bowl of Puppy Chow in the kitchen.  Playful dogs  kill sheep slowly; their victims are eaten alive by fly larva, death in the warm Summer months comes in about 3 days.  "Where is Puff, Spot?"

A newsletter reader, a dog lover judging from her email address, demanded that I unsubscribe her from the mailing list after the first installment of The Crying Game—she didn't comprehend the unhappy irony of happiness is a warm gun—and I did take her off the list without making comment on  her prayerful advice to me about my fences on my property;  but I must dedicate this to her dogs in hope they never stray from her.

I know all there is to know about the crying game
I've had my share of the crying game

First there are kisses, then there are sighs
And then before you know where you are
You're saying goodbye

Don't want no more of the crying game
Don't want no more of the crying game

The Crying Game, sung by Boy George, written by Stephens, Geoff.