We seem to be a stray animal magnet lately. A dog happened upon us a few days ago. He belongs to none of the neighbors. We didn't pay any attention to him for a couple of days, figuring if he belonged somewhere, he'd head home to eat. He stayed right here. He was looking a bit on the thin side so we fed him after that. He wasn't too thin, just looked like he'd been dropped off shortly before we first saw him. He never once tried to get at any of our animals, including chickens. He's a wonderful dog and we're glad to have him! He's now taken to sitting in front of our property and barking warnings to the coyotes across the road, "Stay away from my place and my family or I'll rip you a new one!" He gets along great with our children and our other dogs.
He looks to be quite healthy but has some injuries. One is a crusty spot on the outside of his ear, hair missing, gnats swarming it, about the size of plum. Another is on his back, raw flesh, no hair, scabbing up now but also swarming with gnats, about the size of a fried egg. (I'm hungry so describing everything as food. ) The injury that is worrying me most, though, is his neck. It's quite swollen over the whole throat area and he has trouble swallowing. He has to do a little head swerving and twisting each time he swallows. There doesn't seem to be any external injury. The swelling hasn't gone down in the 4 or so days he's been with us. I cannot feel any bones broken or out of place, seems to be only soft tissue involved, but the throat/neck is a complex place so some may be hiding behind/within the swelling.
So what can we do to help? We cannot afford a vet right now but could afford to buy some meds from the farmers co-op if needed.
He looks to be quite healthy but has some injuries. One is a crusty spot on the outside of his ear, hair missing, gnats swarming it, about the size of plum. Another is on his back, raw flesh, no hair, scabbing up now but also swarming with gnats, about the size of a fried egg. (I'm hungry so describing everything as food. ) The injury that is worrying me most, though, is his neck. It's quite swollen over the whole throat area and he has trouble swallowing. He has to do a little head swerving and twisting each time he swallows. There doesn't seem to be any external injury. The swelling hasn't gone down in the 4 or so days he's been with us. I cannot feel any bones broken or out of place, seems to be only soft tissue involved, but the throat/neck is a complex place so some may be hiding behind/within the swelling.
So what can we do to help? We cannot afford a vet right now but could afford to buy some meds from the farmers co-op if needed.