The Tale of a Dog With No Tail but a Very Big Heart

Hi, my name is Trippy. I’m a 10 years old mixed breed rescue dog who’s in urgent need of assistance but before telling you about that, I’d like to tell you my tale which happens to explain why I have no tail!

I was rescued from a far away tropical island where I was used as live bait for sharks and swordfish for tourists.

Fortunately I escaped from those mean fishermen but not before they stole my tail. At least I can still wiggle my rear and tug on your heartstrings!

After travelling to a far away country, my luck wasn’t looking very good since nobody dared to adopt me because I’d been so badly traumatized.

I’d made a long trip but still had another long voyage ahead of me in order to recover from my trauma and fears.

Underneath all the my layers of my fears, which my human was able to peel away bit by bit, she discover that I’m quite the explorer—a tiny Indiana Jones who leads the way in the forest! I’m tenacious and patient, and unusually calm but when it comes to protecting my human, I’m fearless. So my nickname is Trippy the Intrepid!

One afternoon my human who suffers from PTSD and who’s experienced in helping badly traumatized dogs, traveled to the countryside where I was staying in order to rescue me.

It was only after she’d officially adopted me that she learned how unwanted I’d been—that if she hadn’t adopted that afternoon, that would’ve been my last day on earth.

She’d already felt that we were soulmates and meant to be together before learning about my situation. And we’ve been saving each other and taking care of each other ever since: we are true soulmates indeed!

My human was really impressed by my big heart but when my veterinarian said my heart is really big, that was really scary news.

People in our neighborhood were astonished by my recovery, and my human is happy to share tips with other humans who have newly rescued dogs which have any trauma symptoms.

Amazingly, I continue to gain more and more confidence all of the time. Even in the 8 years after she adopted me, I continue to make progress in gaining confidence. And to think that there were people who called me “a death row dog!”

For the first year or so, I was so stiff it was like my body was made of cement, and I had a permanent grimace on my face. I got five star spa treatment to help relieve the muscle tension: I was given daily massages with liquid magnesium with essential lavender oil in it to maximize muscle relaxation.

My human had to approach me slowly, often on all fours, and when I wanted to be scratched under the chin, I’d approach her but keep myself at arms length, just in case. Now I’m a such an affectionate cuddle bug you’d never believe how terrified I was before.

My human suffers from fibromyalgia and so she’s in a lot of pain all of the time, and since pain her medications and other treatments are inadequate, she also has to get exercise daily in spite of the pain in order to reduce it.

When you’re in a lot of pain, it can be awfully difficult to motivate yourself to take a walk and to exercise. With me at her side, she can’t get away with taking a day off from getting exercise.

And I’m the best PTSD treatment you could ever ask for!

For the last four years, she’s also been recovering from Long Covid alone without any assistance. My brother who’s a really tall gigantic cat, keeps the household lively with his shenanigans, and we have both been staying next to her giving her extra reassurance in order to confort her and cheer her up during this difficult time.

Lately, her health has improved a lot just in time to help me with cardiac issues which suddenly became serious about 6 months ago when I had to go to a cardiologist for all sorts of exams. An echocardiography, an electrocardiogram, x-rays, and a test to see if I need a pacemaker.

Medications were helping a lot but in the last 6 weeks, she had to take me to the emergency room in the evening twice in a two week period. Then I had to go back during the daytime to see the cardiologist for more exams. He said that there are options.

The two of us had too many medical bills and so now my human doesn’t have any more savings left.

My medications have had to be adjusted several times however the improvement each time doesn’t last as long as we’d hoped for.

When my human recently called the emergency room for advice, the doctor said I needed to come for a two night stay during which the doctors can keep a close eye on me around the clock. They’ll be able to run further tests and give me different treatments as needed right away. That will cost about 2000€ and maybe a bit more.

After that, the best surgical approach can be decided on.

I urgently need financial assistance for taxi trips to and from the Veterinary School, for an oxygen emergency kit to be used while on the way to the emergency room, for medications, for a two night observation visit at the hospital, and the surgical or medical care I’ll need after that.

We look forward to paying forward the love you share with us by sharing everything we can about trauma recovery with others.

A street artist interpreted me as a cherubim watching out over passersby with my angelic eyes.