About a year ago there was the rather tragic post of the tail-less finch and for a week now I’ve wondered if I wasn’t going to have to post about another tail loss among our domestic zoo.
Poor Boo. Not only are we wrestling with epilepsy (though the meds are a HUGE help), but recently her tail got caught in the door. It was my fault, though I lovingly blame Brody for stopping too soon, which made Boo stop, which meant her tail wasn’t all the way in as the door closed. And I’d like to blame the door as well, because the stupid thing never latches – except this ONE time – so I lost precious micro seconds trying to free her pinched tail.
Fine. It was an accident, but it was my fault.
The point is, after the bleeding, bandaging, tail wagging the bandage off, re-bandaging, trip to and from the vet for treatment and more short lived bandages, she’s doing better.
If you’ve ever seen an adopted greyhound without a tail, it’s a bit of a shock at first. It’s always because of an accident and usually because the dog didn’t leave the wound alone. Greyhounds don’t wag like golden retrievers, but they’re still a pretty happy sort and wagging happens, so bandages get lost.
In Boo’s case it looks like amputation won’t be required, though the tail is far from perfect at the moment. It’s not even very attractive since it’s been shaved and stapled. (but we tell her she’s beautiful while we clean the wound each day) If the situation deteriorates, the amputation won’t be too dramatic, just the last inch or so is injured. But still, I hope it doesn’t come to that.
It would appear that despite her penchant for wagging, her tail will make a full recovery…in due time. So once more Regan’s Zoo is on a ‘tail-alert’, but this time the cats had nothing to do with it.
Live the greyhound adventure!
