Fall Down, Go Boom

Duncan has been keeping me company on my pet sitting trips this week. He loves the place, partly because the cats are nice to him (one even stands there while Duncan licks her) and partly because there are chickens in the back yard. Our routine has been that we go in, Duncan licks Monkey, then he goes out on the back porch while I feed the cats. Duncan helps me feed the chickens and then he hangs out while I give the kitties some lovin's. Of course, this means Duncan has ample time to explore the back yard. The down side of this free time is that Duncan still has not learned how to go down stairs, and there are about 10 from the porch to a small platform that leads to the yard. I swear, sometimes I think he just builds up too much momentum and his bulk prevents him from stopping (or even slowing down).

Yesterday, Duncan got a bit too exuberant when I came out to feed the chickens. He made it down the first couple of steps and then appeared to launch himself in an attempt to get down the stairs even faster. Well, he made it down quickly, but it wasn't pretty. He hit one of the lower steps, knocked his front legs out from under himself and planted a facer on the little wooden platform. And then he slid. When he stood up, he seemed a bit confused (no surprise) and started licking his nose. I checked for splinters and damaged teeth and thankfully didn't find either. He walked a bit funny for a couple of minutes, shook it off and went about the task of guarding me from the chickens.

When we got home yesterday, this is what his snout looked like (hint: all that pink is not normal):

I didn't check it this morning, but I did look at it this evening. All that not-good pink has spread, even to his lower lip:

Lucky for Duncan, the pet-sitting gig ended today. He won't have to face those vicious stairs again any time soon.