Dog that wags too hard needs surgery to get back on her feet

VERNON – Sometimes, she wags her tail so hard that she injures herself.

That’s the heartbreaking story of Nugget, a fawn-coloured mastiff mix that came into the care of the Vernon SPCA with two torn cruciate ligaments in her back legs, a painful condition that affects her ability to walk. Without treatment, it will lead to arthritis in her joints, according to a release from the B.C. SPCA.

“Nugget is such a sweet and goofy girl,” Vernon branch manager Chelsea Taylor says in the release. “Despite the pain she’s in, she just wants to love you and be loved. (We) now keep her tail bandaged, as she has hurt it a couple of times while in her kennel from wagging it so hard.”

The medical costs associated with Nugget’s surgery, care and recovery are expected to exceed $9,000.

“She thinks she’s a 100-pound lap dog,” Taylor says. “We just want her to have the chance to lead an active, healthy life – she’s not even two yet and still has a lot of love to give.”

A non-profit organization, the B.C. SPCA relies primarily on public donations to help the province’s most vulnerable animals, states the release.

If you can help Nugget and other animals like her at the Vernon SPCA go here or visit in person at 4800 Haney Rd. in Vernon.

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