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Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn’s dogs were stuck by porcupines recently\u2014and it happened repeatedly.\n<\/p>\n
The gold medalist shared on Instagram<\/a> that her pups ran out of the house after a porcupine, which left both of the poor dogs with dozens of quills stuck in their snouts. Ouch, just ouch. Vonn took them to their veterinarian right away, and they\u2019re thankfully doing OK.\n<\/p>\n Dogs are curious creatures, so porcupine quilling happens more often than you might think. Your dog may be more at risk if you live in a rural area in the western or northeast United States or Canada, though porcupines can live in a variety of settings<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Porcupines, the continent\u2019s second-largest rodent, are covered in roughly 30,000(!) quills<\/a> that can be easily dislodged. They don\u2019t shoot their quills (which would be terrifying), but when threatened, they\u2019ll turn their quill-filled back and lash out with their barbed tail (still scary).\n<\/p>\n Once the quills are embedded in a regretful predator, they advance further into the skin at 1 millimeter per hour, according to the National Zoo. (Gahhhhhh.)\n<\/p>\n