Woody's paw is definitely getting better.  The swelling isn't all  gone, but it's much improved and he's moving around a lot better.  In fact, he's been begging to go outside tonight.  Wouldn't you think he'd have some sense after this that it's dangerous out there after dark??  We may not let him out at night ever again.  We're trying to think of some way to compromise because we know how much he likes being out there, but so far we haven't come up with a good solution. 

Today we learned that two different neighbors have lost cats just this past week.  They suspect an owl.  Owls are definitely predators of mice, rabbits, squirrels, etc., so why not cats - or small dogs?  Just out of curiosity, I looked it up and sure enough - this is when young owls are learning to fend for themselves, and of course owls hunt at night.  There was even a picture of an owl holding a cat in his talons.  Not a pretty sight, and now we are thinking our Woody may have been a target - but his nearly 15 pounds weight probably kept him from a worse fate than an injured paw.