ATTACKED!!!

By a Cactus!!! Seriously???
So today I was totally motivated to get some sun and go on a good, long, fast walk! I was totally in the mood! So we ( Echo & I ) set off in a tank top to get some sun and some water packed for our long walk/hike!
It was WONDERFUL I was making great time! We get to a few spots where I can let Echo off the leash and hike off into the hills a little bit and I love those moments! Echo gets to run everywhere and get the endless amounts of energy he has out of his system and I get to enjoy not being pulled by a huge dog for a few moments!
Today... not so good! I see Echo venture off the path and right past a cactus, suddenly I see him FLIPPING OUT he is flying in the air contorting his body in all sorts of ways and I am like "what happened to my dog??" I call him and the poor pup comes trotting over with cactus needles ALL OVER his body!! His mouth is bleeding and totally watering. I start to try to pull out the needles but realise they are REALLY stuck in there and this is going to take some time! I call Kip and ask him what to do because... well... boys are supposed to know! And he says we need to pull them out. I make Echo keep on walking because there is no way I am going to pull these all out in the middle of the trail on the dirt. We finally get to one of my friends houses who is not home, but I decide this is the place I am going to pull all these out. By that point I had gotten a good 3 miles in so I could rest too! I just felt too bad making him walk ALL the way home with these needles all over his poor body! I do my best and he takes the ones all over his body like a total champ! He just lays there while I pulled needles out of his chest, legs, bottoms of his feet, head, neck, side, well everywhere!!! Then I get to his face which is the worst part! My 6 month pregnant self is trying to pin him down to keep him still while yanking needles out of his lips, gums, nose, in between his teeth, the roof of his mouth, and even in his tongue! The dog never growled or snapped at me which is amazing to me because that must have HURT, but he was wiggling everywhere! So I call my friend Megan who I know is driving around in the neighborhood and ask her to meet me to help pin him down. She has 2 huge dogs and totally knows Echo and is a WONDERFUL friend so she was PERFECT!! Thanks Megan for letting my dog bleed and slobber all over you! She helped me with all the rest... I think???
I just have to say, my dog is the SWEETEST thing ever. The poor thing had me sticking my whole hand in his mouth to rip out needles that were stuck in the roof of his mouth and gums and in between teeth, and his tongue and he NEVER EVER tried to bite down on my hand! Never even whimpered or growled! He is ONE GOOD DOG!!! I do have to say, when I began this process I was nervous, he is a Doberman with a BIG MOUTH and lots of BIG teeth, but I knew he trusted me! I now have NO WORRIES for little Brooke! She could probably take pliers to his teeth and he would lay there and take it! I love my dog!