2008 Woodie Awards
A tale of dogs' tails
Robert Dora
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Opinion
I encountered something surprising during my epic travels into the past. I remembered a tale, which I have yet to write about, that does actually involve a tail. One of the biggest changes for me when I came to college, and likely for others, was the absence of old friends. Most colleges including Clarkson, have restrictions on pets. Many people spend good chunks of their lives with a dog or a cat, but then must spend four years away from them.
There are seven dogs that I can remember living with. All seven were not alive at the same time, of course. However, I do aspire to live alone with thirty cats someday. A couple of my dogs have had issues with tails. My fourth wily canine, Shadow, was a very clever dog. Once, she moved a cooler across our basement so that she could use it to jump out the small opening. Shadow did, however, have one disadvantage.
Her tail had been cut in half by a rogue door. Despite the injury, she was still excited to see the vet when we arrived there. We've had dogs that were very smart and dogs that were not so smart. Our current dog is of the latter. She has also had problems in the tail department. Her problems don't end there, though.
We got Sheffield (my brother is a big Yankee's fan) when she was a small puppy. She's a Pitbull/Australian Shepherd mixture. We noticed that she would often chase her tail as a puppy. Unlike other dogs, however, she would catch her tail. She would proceed to bite it, yelp, and then stop. Fifteen second later, she would begin chasing it again.
As with most members of my household, she also had a problem with stairs. She would fall down them regularly, but seemed completely unfazed by the event. Often she would fall because she'd catch sight of her tail and begin chasing it while she was running down the stairs. This dog is three years old now. She continues to do these things to this day.
I suppose I've gotten somewhat off-track at this point. A pet is a very special part of a person's family, but all pets are different. Most people love the animal unconditionally, regardless of what it's like. More importantly, we can learn from them. Tails are another thing to look out for. There's a reason humans have evolved away from the need for tails. Why else would dogs try to rip theirs off?
There are seven dogs that I can remember living with. All seven were not alive at the same time, of course. However, I do aspire to live alone with thirty cats someday. A couple of my dogs have had issues with tails. My fourth wily canine, Shadow, was a very clever dog. Once, she moved a cooler across our basement so that she could use it to jump out the small opening. Shadow did, however, have one disadvantage.
Her tail had been cut in half by a rogue door. Despite the injury, she was still excited to see the vet when we arrived there. We've had dogs that were very smart and dogs that were not so smart. Our current dog is of the latter. She has also had problems in the tail department. Her problems don't end there, though.
We got Sheffield (my brother is a big Yankee's fan) when she was a small puppy. She's a Pitbull/Australian Shepherd mixture. We noticed that she would often chase her tail as a puppy. Unlike other dogs, however, she would catch her tail. She would proceed to bite it, yelp, and then stop. Fifteen second later, she would begin chasing it again.
As with most members of my household, she also had a problem with stairs. She would fall down them regularly, but seemed completely unfazed by the event. Often she would fall because she'd catch sight of her tail and begin chasing it while she was running down the stairs. This dog is three years old now. She continues to do these things to this day.
I suppose I've gotten somewhat off-track at this point. A pet is a very special part of a person's family, but all pets are different. Most people love the animal unconditionally, regardless of what it's like. More importantly, we can learn from them. Tails are another thing to look out for. There's a reason humans have evolved away from the need for tails. Why else would dogs try to rip theirs off?
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