Injury

Very upsetting and painful couple of days just passed. The goatherder’s dogs came into the garden on Wednesday morning and of course my two wanted to go and see them. Minnie was no problem because she wasn’t on a lead anyway but when I took off Wilf’s choke chain he lunged forward and started to run off. Unfortunately just about the time he reached top speed I realised that he had the rope around his chest and was pulling hard at it, two of the fingers of my left hand were still in the loop of the choke chain which inevitably tightened ripping off part of my middle finger and causing a cut down to the bone on my third finger. After dancing around in agony for about fifteen seconds I noticed the ripped off part of my finger lying on the veranda so I picked it up and phoned a friend who very kindly came and took me down to Kaş to the doctor. I spent an hour or so getting my third finger stitched up there and then we went to the hospital about five hundred yards away and got the other finger repaired with the bit I’d picked up.

I agonised overnight and decided that Wilf would have to go to the animal shelter in Ağullu and took him there yesterday. I’m really upset about doing this because I love him but he’s now caused three serious injuries and shows no sign of calming down. He rushes down to the gate and scares all of the locals who walk past my house, sooner or later someone is going to complain to the Jandarma (village police) and they will have him shot. He’s already been poisoned a couple of times but I managed to get some yoghurt into him and neutralise it before it killed him so I think he is now in the safest place for him.

Minnie is still with me but I’m sad about Wilf and hope that my injury heals well although I doubt that I’m going to be able to play the guitar for a long time if ever. Having said that Jango Rheinhart did alright with only two and a half fingers didn’t he?

Here’s a picture of Minnie enjoying some warm sunshine on New Year’s Eve.