A tail’s tale
Here’s the thing with dogs: Sometimes they injure themselves and scream like banshees. Other times, they injure themselves and nary utter a peep.
With greyhounds, I believe the ratio of complaining is inversely related to the seriousness of the injury: The more they whine, the more likely they are just being drama queens. Silence means a vet bill.
On Sunday morning I was headed to our family room when I noticed two bright red streaks on the wall. Employing our best crime scene investigation skills gleaned from too many episodes of bad television dramas, my husband and I determined someone was bleeding. Since no one complained of pain, we had to examine each critter to find the wounded one.
The victim was Melissa Moo, who had somehow incurred a small cut on the tip of her tail.
Now if you ever want to examine blood splatter patterns, have a happy dog trot through your kitchen with a wagging tail gushing like a fountain.We are still finding specks. (High praise for Clorox Magic Eraser, by the way.)
The wound was tiny but, like human finger tips, a tail bleeds profusely. And, like finger tips, it’s really difficult to get a bandage around a tail that will stick. You have no idea how much a dog wags her tail until it leaves a trail.
After two failed attempts at gauze and Band-aids, Phil rigged Melissa’s tail with electrical tape and paper towels. You know, because she’s a black-and-white dog and this tape-and-towel combination blends in with her natural look. My husband apparently has an eye for design. Also, we are out of duct tape.
(Note to self: buy more duct tape.)
This lasted for a while, but eventually she wagged off the jacked-up bandage and she was gushing again.
We had to have the vet affix a better bandage yesterday, and we are prepared to keep her tail under wraps until Christmas Eve to ensure the wound scabs over. If it got infected, she could end up losing part of her tail and that would NOT be a happy wag.
December 20, 2011 - 10:08 AM
Oh dear, poor Melissa Moo! I applaud your ingenuity by the way. I have had a similar experience attempting to bandage cat paws. Even the stuff included in a “pet first aid kit” was no match for little kitty teeth that wanted to gnaw through it. However, I do have a couple of product recommendations for you. First, pet styptic powder (found that out the hard way while clipping nails…). Second, check out Petsmart for self-adhering flexible bandages. They come in lots of fashionable colors (including pink, which my lady kitty wore after said nail-cutting incident) and they stick to themselves and not the animal’s fur.
Those bandages saved my butt (and my carpet!) on several occasions. Hope Ms. Moo is doing better and have a lovely holiday!
It’s amazing that dogs’ tails don’t get injured more often. Daughter Lindsey’s dog, Indie, is a serious tail-wagger and that thing clears off tables and bangs hard enought to hurt my legs. I can’t imagine how it feels when he bangs it against a wall. And the effort to bandage and keep it still so it will heal….
Well, good luck Nona!
Miss Moo so sorry you have an awful boo-boo. If anything happens again & if there’s not gushing blood,Put some ice in a sandwich bag & hold it on the area. This helps clot the blood. Self- adhering tape is great I love it!
Please give all the 4 legged babies my Christmas greetings and here’s hoping all the 2 legged residents have a blessed holiday.
Hope Miss Moo gets to feeling better soon. Have you tried some kling wrap (can get this at wal-mart)? It sticks to itself and is kinda stretchy. You can put some gauze underneath. That might stay on Miss Moo’s tail and should be comfy for her. Just a suggestion.