First Blog

With two jobs and two humorous boys (dogs), my life is full of inspiration, so I thought I'd jot them down to be shared... this is my creative therapy outlet.

Last night, I worked in the salon, as usual. I've been asking to get completely out of the dog grooming salon for a few months now, and it may happen soon. There are many days that convince me that moving out of the salon is the right thing to do; however, every once in awhile, there are days that make me love the salon and make me know that I'll miss the opportunities to touch a dog's life.

Saturday night, I ended up chatting with a lady about her dog and its need for a toenail trim. This dog is special. She is a mastiff mix who has cancer and has had one leg amputated. Understandably, her mom was a little nervous about having someone else "work" on her dog, but her toenails were atrocious and she needed help. I suggested that she bring her in on a weeknight with less activity and let her know that I am comfortable with mastiffs and Tuesday would be my next work day. I was happy to see that she was there when I arrived, and Leyni was already working on grinding her toenails. Ginger - the mastiff, was a little nervous, so I knelt down with her and stroked her head while her toes were manicured. She did wonderful, and received the care that she really needed. Her mom was so happy with us that she wants to bring Ginger in for a shedding treatment after their yard is completed. That's when I feel good about what I do. We helped a special dog in need, and her mom was pleased with our work. I look forward to seeing her again.

Additionally, my one appointment for the evening was with a three-month old boxer puppy who was in for his first-ever bath and toenail trim. I like working with puppies because I really focus on making their first experience very positive so that future grooming goes well. At first, Chico was a little timid around the water, but by the time I was finished, he was sitting there like a pro! I spent some time working on getting his toenails trimmed letting him lead... puppy attention spans are quite short, so with a change from the table to the floor and a little playtime, his toes were trimmed and he was ready to go home! Sweet little boy!

Then, the rest of my evening was spent helping Leyni groom two Schnauzer brothers who were rescued last October from Mississippi and clearly have either not been groomed much previously or had bad experiences in their early years being groomed. They fought and nipped a lot, and she did the best that she could (they still looked cute when she was done) and we're noticing improvement on one's behaviour during grooming, so there's hope. I helped hold them, which was a chore... I think that I still have schnauzer hair in my eyeballs.

It's evenings like that when I really do feel like I made a difference.

My boys aren't too happy with me right now, though. They like to spend their spare time on the couch or on the bed. We were finally able to get some rugs (we have hardwood floors) for the house two weeks ago at an amazing close-out sale, and so I don't feel so guilty making them stay on the floor. We've been blocking the couch off, which has been effective, but they have been pretty smart about unblocking the bed and snoozing up there while we shower. With two mastiffs, they tend to slobber all over the bed and bring dirt up with them from playing outside. Last night, we decided to put an end to that once and for all, so we changed out the doorknob on the bedroom door so that we have a working one, and they can no longer enter the room at all when we are not there. I fully expect that Beau will have destroyed something of mine today while I'm at work.