When I was a kid my springer spaniel jumped over a log while pheasant hunting and landed right on a porcupine. $1000 later and 50 or so quills taken out of his lungs, he was on the mend.
They're still plentiful in WY, ID and MT, plus I see a lot in AK. I shoot every one that I see in my bird areas. I generally leave them alone in areas that I hunt big game in.
