This pup came up to our dining tent on the first evening as we were all eating. He gently placed his paw on my leg, and I thought he was particularly sweet. I quickly noticed he had a 3 inch massive thorn embedded in his leg. It had become infected. I quickly knew I had to get it out, so I got the med kit out and cleaned it up with some alcohol and went to work with my fingers trying to gently coax it out. It didn't budge and the dog was whimpering and pulled back from the pain. I didn't give up. The dog looked at me with trusting eyes as I rubbed the thorn under the skin where it was imbedded hoping to massage it and give it a bit of room to loosen up. I tried again and it slowly broke free. It was out! It had lots of junk and infection attached to it, so I cleaned the wound as best I could and put ointment on it. This dog then followed us for much of the next two weeks. The first day or two, he had a noticeable limp but then healed up and was running around again. The group fell in love with him and named him Twig due to the thorn that was stuck in his left initially. These dogs are incredibly resilient. They trek through the highest peaks in the Andes fending for themselves, sleeping outside and hoping to be fed by passing groups or locals. You fall for these creatures as they are super sweet, but at the end of the day, they are best left to the care and struggle to the mountains. Each day they roam and cover incredible distances. I've been told several times now, I should pitch their story to a documentary crew.
