For most of us, the weeks and months ahead seem daunting, with the prospect of continual social distancing a threat to our physical and mental well-being.

But for dogs the world over, the outlook is quite the opposite – and I think we can all take comfort from that. Yes, man’s best friend certainly won’t mind seeing a lot more of man (or woman, or anyone, for that matter).

In fact, one sausage dog has enjoyed having the family on lockdown so much that he’s sprained his tail from wagging it too much.

Emma Smith shared the news of her pooch’s charming injury on Twitter, claiming his tail ‘stopped working’, with the vet advising that the harm was caused by ‘excessive wagging’.

If you’re a sceptical type, I understand you may be tempted to call bulls**t, but it’s actually more common for dogs to get injured by wagging their tail than you might think (look up Happy Dog Syndrome).

Anyway, the tale (budum-tiss) had the internet enamoured with the little dude, with the tweet receiving a massive 500,000 likes since it was posted yesterday morning (Friday 20 March).

Thankfully, having realised that her pupper was a viral phenomenon, Emma filled us in with a few more details.

Turns out the happy little chappy is called Rolo, he has been prescribed pain relief and his wag is beginning to return:

So when we’re feeling low, let us all think of Rolo and co and how painfully happy they are to have their humans at home.