A BULLDOG had to have emergency surgery to remove 500 quills from her face after she was unexpectedly attacked by a porcupine.

The young bulldog, known as Bella Mae, was outside playing near a pond in Oklahoma in the US, when a porcupine approached her and other pets.



Bella Mae, 3, got too close to the animal, which is believed to have instigated the attack, The Daily Mail reports.

She was rushed to the vet, where the quills were painfully removed one by one.

Veterinarians performed emergency surgery on her to take quills out from her face, neck, legs and chest.

The porcupine impaled all three dogs, but Bella took the brunt of the attack.



It took a doctor and two nurses two hours to extract the quills from her face, mouth and feet, the hospital said on its Facebook page.

media_camera Veterinarians say Bella Mae, a three-year-old Oklahoma bulldog, had 500 quills embedded in her face after a run-in with a porcupine. Photo Animal Emergency Center

She is still recovering from the attack and is on antibiotics to prevent any infection.

Some quills are understood to be still inside her body and they were still pulling out quills days after her surgery from her paws and other areas.

Her owners Jerry and Allison Noles told KWTV had never seen the porcupine before in their local neighbourhood.

media_camera Veterinarians say Bella Mae, a three-year-old Oklahoma bulldog, had 500 quills embedded in her face after a run-in with a porcupine. Photo Animal Emergency Center

Mrs Noles told News 9 in Oklahoma: "It was devastating"

"These animals are our kids and when you see them hurt you can't imagine the intense pain she had to be in. It affected our whole family."

They believed the wandering porcupine came to their pond to drink water.

There has been a lack of fresh water in the area.

media_camera Veterinarians say Bella Mae, a three-year-old Oklahoma bulldog, had 500 quills embedded in her face after a run-in with a porcupine. Photo Animal Emergency Center

Doctors at the Animal Emergency Center have never seen an attack like this before.

Porcupines are normally very passive creatures and do not strike and attack other animals like this.

Instead, they normally curl up and protect themselves from being harmed by predators.

media_camera Veterinarians say Bella Mae, a three-year-old Oklahoma bulldog, had 500 quills embedded in her face after a run-in with a porcupine. Photo Animal Emergency Center







Originally published as Porcupine puts 500 quills in dog's face