What do you buy for the man who has everything? That was the question that must have been running through my sister’s mind when she was trying to think of a Christmas present for me last year. While I admit that I am not the easiest person to buy for, there are loads of things that I don’t have. I don’t have an electrical screwdriver, I don’t have Star Wars episode VIII on DVD and I don’t have a tennis racket. However, what I do now have is a set of whittling knives, courtesy of my younger sibling…
Actually, I have always enjoyed a bit of carpentry and so one idle afternoon I decided to give whittling a go. Being ever so thoughtful, my sister had also included a book on whittling with some useful ideas to get the amateur whittler started. The first chapter featured the arbitrary info on safety when whittling with a picture of someone dressed in chain mail gloves, thick leather chaps and plastic goggles. Not wanting to look like a blacksmith at a jousting tournament (and also lacking any of this attire), I decided to skip this and begin making a walking stick for my dear Mum. I should point out that my Mum definitely does not need a walking stick for ambulatory purposes but had cited an interest in having one for going out on dog walks with her beloved cocker spaniel, Fennel.
It didn’t take long to begin fashioning a suitable stick with some etching in the handle – unsurprisingly, whittling knives are particularly adept at shaving wood. It took a little longer (about two thirds down the stick) for me to experience that they are also particularly adept at stabbing through human flesh. It appears that a pair of Jeans aren’t as robust as some leather chaps and one careless stroke had resulted in a one inch hole in my jeans with a matching one inch incision in the top of my left thigh. It was a clean and deep cut, but judging by the rosette of blood that swiftly developed on my jeans, it obviously needed some stitches. Not wanting to bother an A+E already burdened by Covid, I decided to utilise my day-job skills and patch myself up.
It’s not uncommon for us to see dogs with skin lacerations, and if the wound is clean and the patient amenable, we’ll often apply some local anaesthetic and close the wound with skin staples - avoiding the need and cost of a sedation for a more involved procedure. It’s amazing how well dogs tolerate this, so I decided to employ a similar technique. I’m not sure whether human skin is more sensitive or whether I am just less brave (more likely!) than our canine counterparts, but it certainly bought a tear to the eye! While the wound did eventually heal, it did become quite inflamed and relatively uncomfortable at one stage and I was mighty tempted to scratch at my sutures.
The whole experience of being on the receiving end of some treatment has made me a lot more considerate and respectful of the many pets that we operate on who generally have to cope with much more severe wounds and after care, all while having no understanding of why they are in the situation they are in. I will certainly empathise a lot more with any pet who chews their sutures out or makes their wound sore by scratching and it’s one of the reasons why we try to use intradermal (under the skin) dissolvable sutures wherever possible. However, while I may now relate to any pet who is paying undue attention to their wound, it still won’t stop me putting a buster collar on them, so best tell them to leave it alone!
