well maybe third. As many of you know I adopted Kiki with a broken tail. I took her in the the regular vet today for another opinion. (SPCA said tail was fine...on base vet said to remove it) Today the vet told me that unless she had an extreme trauma at a very young age her tail is probably a congenital defect. She did tell me to think hard about removing her tail. She said it wasn't an emergency, but as time goes on she could develop moist dermatitis which could effect the surgery later. She also said Kiki could develop arthritis in her tail. So I guess after the holidays Kiki will go under the knife. I hate to do it. I asked if she might suffer from phantom limb disorder the way people do when they loose an arm or a leg, but she said she didn't think so. She will have a very small tail if any at all. They have to remove it at the first joint. It'll cost about $200.00 for pre-surgical blood work, the surgery, anesthesia, and antibiotics, and maybe a cone collar so she can't lick it. But I guess if it prohibits problems later than it'll be worth it.