Wagged to Death!

Ever heard of a dog having so much fun that he wagged his tail to death? That's what Max did Saturday! Seriously!

We went to a new doggie beach near Carpinteria, CA -- Summerland is the cute town and the beach is Lookout Point -- and Max went bonkers playing with Gracie, his roommate, and a bunch of new friends...the water was freezing, but this did not stop Max from running for an hour and digging holes in the sand and chasing the waves! Nor did he hesitate to play due to the ever-present scent of gasoline from the offshore drilling rigs.

After a morning of fun, Max then went straight to Petco for a professional cleaning...however, late in the evening, we noticed that his tail was doing a funky u-turn...after much googling, we found that he must have "cold water tail" "limp tail" or "dead tail"? Funny how most websites quote vets as saying it's fairly common yet it is not really taught in vet school, but is something passed along amongst the professionals.

Apparently, it's caused by an over-exertion of the tail (toooo much fun!) and exposure to cold water...did I mention that the water on the beach today was freeeezing???

 Note the funky u-turn and his droopy tail (top) from Saturday night and compare to the dirty beach dog photo (bottom)  from earlier in the day!

But, I suppose, there are worse ways to injure yourself...right Max?

Let's hope the tail pops up, back into place soon!

(Don't tell Max, but he's getting his shots Monday morning, so we'll be at the vet's anyway...)