Life aint all bad

[Cement Man]

I couldn't sleep last night, wife is away babysitting the grandkids, lot's going on at work, problems at church - wrecked my sleep.  My miniature Schnauzer pestered me to feed him and of course, take him out early which I did.  I don't ever have him on a leash as he listens well - EXCEPT when he smells or sees some critter.  We have a little rain and a steady northeast breeze this morning. 
It was still pretty dark, and old Steuben is crouched over finishing up - and in the prairie grass, here comes a skunk heading right towards us about 30 feet away from the downwind.  Once he sees or smells a critter, there is nothing in the world that will stop old Stubey from charging right over to meet it.  I scooped him up as fast as I could and headed for the porch.  He saw it as we were booking (for me that is a slow walk anymore) and started growling, whining, and yelping.  All I could say is "Steuben, that is NOT your friend..."
So, no matter how poorly you think things are, there's always a blessing waiting somewhere.  I am sure grateful for that NE breeze this morning! 

[magooch]

Things are never so bad that they can't get a whole lot worse.  It is a wise man who can discern and rescue simple fortunes from the choices that life presents.

[ms]

Life is good no matter what.

[oldandslow]

Life is certainly better than the alternative. My parents had a Boston Terrier that loved to thrash cats. I know he wasn't stupid so I guess he was just tough. He treated every skunk he ever saw just like a black and white cat.

[myronman3]

It is a wise man who can discern and rescue simple fortunes from the choices that life presents.

i like that.   kind of the way i look at things, life is what you make of it.   

[crustaceous]

I see two missed opportunities here.
1. The dog lost a great opportunity to learn about skunks.
2. You lost the opportunity to give the dog an intensive cleaning.
 
I've been in a similar situation and gave my dog the opportunity to learn about porcupines. I then got the opportunity to learn about dog dentistry and quill extraction!

[rockbilly]

My big dog has tangled with a porcupine twice in the back yard.  The first time, after pulling about thirty quills I decided I would take him to the vet to get the remaining quills removed, all total we removed in the neighborhood of 80 quills from his mouth, nose, tongue, and lips.  The second time it wasn't quite as bad, he got about 35 quills, but in doing so managed to remove a fist sized hunk of skin/meat from the porcupine's back.

The vet told me that once a dog tangles with a porcupine he will either avoid them totally, or attack every one he sees after the first encounter.  That dumb dog of mine didn't learn after the first time.