I go to Muiravon Country Park every Sunday morning. Dogs love it. Makes a nice local change. Barely started the walk when I spotted (and the hounds) a huge ferret like animal but very dark, appeared black. Imagine a normal big male ferret....now double that size, length and width! It made a run for it and so of course did the dogs. Was just a split second too late in grabbing Lenny. Rosie got it and Lenny wanted to see but the poor boy has no teeth and got in the way. It bit him, he yelped and fell over. Somehow Rosie let go and it managed to get under some debris. The whole time this thing was making a noise like a tazmanian devil. Although interested Ruby kept a little distance but Rosie was quite determined. Unfortunately it slipped away without Rosie noticing. Lenny saw but I had him on the lead by then. I say unfortunately because this was a mink. There is a petting farm near by so when I passed through informed him of the potential problem. Mink cause so much damage to our native wildlife. They kill anything they can. He put some iodine on Lenny nose to help any infection. Have since cleaned it and sprayed with antiseptic spray.
Poor Lenny, and what a bizarre incident with mink, so thanks for the warning in case anyone is thinking of that park! Lenny's muzzle looks so sore, and it is such a sensitive area for them. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Poor Lenny! It's a very nasty bite on a sensitive area. I've never seen a mink but I've read about how vicious they can be and how they can devastate wildlife in their area.
Big hugs to Lenny and hope the big chap recovers soon!