Nellie is chilling after a hard day. She got attacked by a swarm of yellowjackets, twice! Today Deb, Nellie, and I scouted the gravel roads at the top of Vancouver Island, looking for possible tent camping sites. The gravel roads there become intimidating quickly, as they pass through dense temperate rainforest, branch off here and there, and are never named on any map. Once we felt like we might become lost for weeks, we retraced our tracks and eventually headed to Port Alice. There, at the edge of the village, we had a picnic and followed a trail down to the Neroutsos Inlet (ocean). When we passed a yellowjacket nest, the little bastards attacked Nellie (I had her on a leash and she did nothing to provoke them). We ran down to the water and then gave the yellowjackets time to settle down.

Unfortunately, we had to take the same trail back. This time Deb walked ahead and Nellie and I followed. The yellowjackets ignored Deb and went straight for Nellie again. Nellie and I raced up the trail to the truck. Two of the yellowjackets followed her right into her seat!

I’m not sure how many times Nellie got stung. And what really scared me is that Nellie is still recovering from the TPLO surgery on her right rear leg (to remove a ligament and replace it with a metal plate and six screws). Nellie’s surgeon warned us that explosive movements before she is totally healed could snap the plate. Now Nellie didn’t want to put weight on that leg.

Thinking the worst, I drove us back to the cottage we are renting in Port Hardy as fast as I dared. While I doubted any veterinarian there would know TPLO surgery, I had brought some of the unused pain meds that Nellie hadn’t needed after her operation.

In the end, Nellie spent a few hours high on pain meds and now she is just fine. In fact, we took her on a long walk with no issues. My theory is that she got stung a time or two on the inside of her right-rear leg near the incision where her metal plate was installed. Tomorrow she’ll chill in the cottage for most of the day while Deb and I head out on the ocean for some whale watching and photography. The timing for that should be perfect. I’m sure Nellie will be ready for another adventure the moment we return.