A Tail of Woe - posted at 04:35

(I'm not done posting wedding pictures! This was just too classic to put off posting until I have exhausted the nuptial tales!)

While Cory and I were engaged I was doing a lot of traveling. So much traveling, in fact, that I deemed it would be hugely expensive to board her somewhere and she would have been miserable there anyway. My parents were good enough to take care of here for those three months until I got back from our honeymoon and were additionally good enough to get her dew claws removed. Unfortunately, this meant that she was out of dog-park-commission for a couple of weeks until she got her staples out.

Well as soon as she got them out I made a play date for her and a new Lab that a couple of friends had recently gotten. I just knew that Penny (the new Lab) would love University Lake and that she and Sienna would get along awesomely.

It was all going according to plan -- Sienna even taught Penny how to swim -- and all hounds and people involved were really happy until several hours after Sienna and I got home. I noticed Sienna was giving me sad eyes that were even sadder than her normal sad sad eyes. She was also so lethargic that I thought that something might be wrong with her. I had no idea what it was until bedtime got closer and I let her outside for the last time that night and I realized "wait a minute -- her tail isn't wagging!" Those of you who have met Sienna know that that fifth appendage never stops moving, and if she can't wag her tail all that well (like when she's sitting down) she'll just shake her whole body back and forth instead, so unable to contain her enthusiasm is she!

Well I figured that her lack-of-wagginess was probably due to the new kink her in tail that I had noticed at the same time. I called her over and kinda played with it really gently to straighten it out and she just gave me that look of "I trust you, you crazy lady, but could you just not do that???" Ok, Sienna. I'll call the vet and let her mess with your tail.

Fast forward to that morning. We get to the vet's and she's starting to pick up her attentiveness, but she's still a very muted version of Sienna-in-a-vet's-office. The vet is offering ideas like a fracture (how the hell would you splint a tail, anyway?) or a luxation and talking about worst case scenarios like loss of sensation that would result in amputation (YIPE! Sienna needs her wagger!). So imagine my relief when the vet pinches her tail and gets a response and takes an x-ray and decides there's no fracture.

"She sprained her tail," the vet explained.

Blink. Blink. How does a doggie manage to do that? But given Sienna's a) constant use of her tail, b) her extraordinary otter-like tail strength, and c) her clumsiness (she takes after her Mama!), if any dog was going to sprain its tail, it would, well, it would be Sienna.

Oh noes! Sienna sprained her tail! (click for larger)

Thus ends her Tail of Woe.

And yes, with a title like that, Cory is pretty sure I'll be getting along with his Dad just fine!

Update: I took Sienna to the vet for a health certificate in August and happened to mention the problems we had had earlier in the year. The vet said that she probably had gotten swimmer's tail, which happens a lot at the beginning of the swimming season because the dogs aren't used to playing in the water and the water itself is very cold. I hope it doesn't happen again this next spring - I don't know if I can handle that much Sienna sadness!

Jared commented:

Don't you believe it! It was all an act to get an extra rawhide out of you...

Just kidding, that is very le sad! I hope she's feeling better. :)

Jared commented:

Btw, that is a sweet title.

Jitterbean Girl commented:

Y'know, you might be right.... She did get lots of love and attention when her tail was at its most pitiful!

She's better now though. Her tail is back to wagging uncontrollably.

BTW, in her case, the tail definitely wags the dog!