Help Pearl With Her Tail Amputation & Recovery

Pearl's tail never seems to stop wagging, but the very thing that shows how happy she is has become a painful medical problem.

Pearl came into Rags to Riches' care more than three years ago carrying both physical and emotional scars from her past. She was underweight, struggled with severe skin and allergy issues, and would cower if she thought someone was upset with her or raised something over her head.

Despite everything she had experienced, Pearl quickly showed everyone what a remarkably gentle and affectionate girl she is. Her rescuers lovingly describe her as a "stage 5 clinger," and at around 55 pounds, this Boxer/American Bully mix has never seemed to realize she might be a little too big to stick quite so close.

Pearl's medical journey has already included treatment for her chronic skin and allergy problems, eye surgery, and a difficult recovery from her spay that led to repeated problems with her incision and required additional veterinary care.

More recently, Pearl developed another painful problem: happy tail.

Happy tail happens when a dog wags their tail so enthusiastically that it repeatedly strikes walls, furniture, crates, or other hard surfaces. Over time, the end of the tail can split open and bleed. Because the tail continues wagging and hitting things, these injuries can be incredibly difficult to heal.

That's exactly what has been happening to Pearl. Her tail has been breaking open and bleeding again and again, sometimes every single day. Her rescue has tried wrapping and protecting it, but even with their best efforts, Pearl continues to reopen the injury.

Eventually, they had to consider something they had desperately hoped to avoid: surgically amputating the injured portion of her tail so it could finally heal.

Pearl has undergone extensive veterinary care surrounding her latest medical needs, including pre-surgical bloodwork and coagulation testing, anesthesia, surgery, medications, and post-operative treatment. Her current veterinary expenses total more than $1,600.

Through all of it, Pearl is still Pearl: affectionate, gentle, a little goofy, and happiest when she can be close to the people she trusts.

After everything this sweet girl has already overcome, her rescue wants nothing more than to get her comfortable again and put this painful chapter behind her.

Please consider donating to Pearl's Waggle campaign to help with the cost of her surgery and continued recovery. Her tail may have earned the nickname "happy tail," but the repeated injuries have been anything but happy for Pearl. Every donation helps her rescue cover the veterinary care she needs to finally heal.