Sunny’s tail!

As Thanksgiving approaches, I have never been more thankful for my dog Sunny’s wagging tail! On November first, I was letting Sunny in through our back sliding door and I accidentally closed it on her tail. She yelped more loudly than usual! My father took one look at her tail hanging lifelessly and said it was probably broken. And my heart was broken! As we walked her around the block, her usually wagging tail just hung there without moving.

It was just past five o’clock and the veterinarian’s office had just closed so we had to wait until the next morning to find out if her tail would heal or if it would have to be cut off and I would never see it wag again! I cried thinking that I had handicapped my dog like I’m handicapped. No matter what I did or what anyone said, I had the hardest time forgiving myself for my mistake. What if Sunny loses her tail? What if I’m the reason Sunny can’t wag her tail? What if Sunny is nervous around me? What if I can’t get her to come in from the cold of November because she’s afraid of her tail getting caught in the door again?

During the long night waiting for the vet to open, Sunny was so loving to me. Without her tail wagging or even moving, she laid beside me lovingly. Me. The one who had broken her tail and how did she react? Instead of being afraid of me, which I feared, she comforted me! I cried on her and she put her nose under my arm so I would pet her. She came over to the couch several times to ask me to pet her, always turning herself around, so I would rub her in the perfect spot.

The next morning, my dad took her to the vet – her tail still not moving – to find out if it was broken or not. I waited nervously afraid she would come home without a tail. The time dragged on and I was sure that was bad news. But after about an hour and half, they came back and Sunny’s tail was still there but still not wagging. My dad said the x-rays had shown no break, and the vet said it would probably heal within a week or two, but if she couldn’t lift it then it would definitely need to come off so she could use the restroom without getting infections. We still had to hold our breath!

Not even a full day later, Mom and Dad came home from their date night and Sunny wagged her tail slightly to greet them! That night when she raised her tail to pee we knew she’d be all right! Her tail still isn’t one hundred percent yet, and worse case scenario, it might not curl up all the way like a normal North Carolina dog, but I am SO beyond thankful this Thanksgiving that my mistake did NOT cost Sunny the ability to wag her tail! As my dad says, “God gave monkeys tails so they could climb trees and gave horses tail to shoo pesky flies. But God gave dogs tails just to show their joy and to bring us joy!”