“We’ve got a puppy!” is what you’re most likely to hear people exclaim, joyfully. No one will ever say: “We’ve got a tail!”

That tail’s a tell-tale!

Tara, my first dog, had a docked tail when I bought her.

This was long before docking and cropping became banned in Europe. Today, even without a federal law in place, most Veterinary’s throughout the world oppose these cosmetic practices.

But what Tara lacked in tail length she made up for in rear muscle strength! When she was happy, she was HAPPY, wagging her short tail, her rear-ends and sometimes even her back!

When happy, Tara wouldn’t wag, she would swing!

Love me, love my dog

Before Tara we sheltered a lost Blue Great Dane puppy, Honda, for a few weeks. Honda was a tall puppy, I thought… aged two, as her owners mentioned when they fetched her.

24 hours after we’d found her, our average-size apartment was already “tail-proofed”. Because Honda didn’t just have a tail, she had a secret weapon. Luckily for us it was winter, no explanations needed as to why our legs were bruised.

We soon learned that when Honda stands, the safest place would be near her head, away from her pounding end.

“Mom, where are my keys, I’ve put them on the coffee table!”

“Mom, where is my book, it was on the side of the sofa!”

“Oh, found them, the dog just wagged them off!”

Honda would lay and wag, hit the front door in the process and I could vouch someone was outside, knocking!

When happy, Honda wouldn’t wag, she would hammer!

Dog-tails come in many sizes and so do their four-legged owners. Thin or curly, crooked or straight, short or lengthy, I love a wagging tail.

It’s the sound and sight of a dog laughing.

by Patricia Furstenberg

Have you read Dog Tales with tails. Take Two?