vacuuming pd's...not what you think

Today was the day that my girls, or at least RR2, were supposed to go; unfortunately today was also the day that it was 19, with a windchill of 5. Needless to say, the girls did not go, and they did not want 2 anywhere near them, all they wanted to do was eat, and go to bed early. Tomorrow's forecast is more of the same..so who really knows? As for 29, he scared me. He came to the edge of the study are, and sort of just keeled over on his side, not moving for 4 hours; when he did finally get up, it was to slowly walk into the sage, not to be seen the rest of the day. Poor guy, hope he's okay. At noon, 43 got up, heard 2 calling, and beat it for the sage, later to be seen beating up on 30 in the adjacent territory. I also had 92 emerge, a yearling female, who after looking around for a bit, went off to eat in the sage, not to be seen the rest of the day.

And so it went, the day was freezing, and my feet were cold. I fully intend to bring a sleeping bag tomorrow to put my feet in. At the end of the day, we checked traps, and found that we had caught 15 and an unmarked. 15 got released, and we went to the warmth of the van to work with the unmarked. I had gotten a good look at his eartags before we went to the van (they were 11 and 12), and since they were only double digit numbers, I knew he was an older guy, as most of the dogs have triple digits in the 500's. Once in the van, 35, as he will be, was determined to be at least 4 years old (old for a male, who usually only make it to 5), and was put into the bag with no issue. It was when we were in position, and John opened the bag that there was a problem. He immediately closed it in disgust, and folded it over for me to hold. I stared at him as he pulled out a portable vacuum cleaner, and plugged it in. He asked me if I was ready, and re-opened the bag. The bag was moving. 35 had so many fleas that the fabric couldn't even be seen directly behind him. I gaped as John first vacuumed them off the bag, and then just put the hose end on the dog himself, and sucked off hundreds more. John estimated 150 fleas, and that's only the ones we saw. All through the ordeal, 35 barely moved, which is an indication of how poor his health probably is; aside from fleas he had super dry flaky skin and a poor fur coat. I felt bad for the old guy, even as we continued to vacuum and drown fleas in alcohol. It was definitely an experience to remember...