I really try to avoid doctors. Just as I believe we are a society quick to hire a lawyer rather than solve our own problems, I also believe we are too quick to go to doctors rather than rely on natural healing.

But

what do I know?

It was getting pretty clear to me that Odie's cut wasn't going to heal right unless there was something like stitches holding it together. So, we found a vet that would take us without an appointment and did the deed. He's still pretty pathetic, but I'm confident he'll heal well now.

Poor Odie. Similar incident happened to my miniature poodle. We were on vacation at the beach and he and his "cousins" got in a tussle. His wound was on his neck. The vet said we were wise to bring him in since dog bites tend to get infected more often than not due to dogs harboring so many nasty germs in their mouths. He got his stitches, anitbiotics, laid around for a couple of days and then was good to go.