Grooming with Mom: Our Seniors

Lucy, Ace Reporter, on the Groom Beat

Today I’ve invited back a couple of our long-timers, Maggie the schnauzer and Dora the shih tsu, sporting their new winter cuts. We’ve had so many positive comments on what a great idea the concept of winter grooms is that I’m going to ride that wave. Uh, I mean, show you two more. *clears throat* Both usually get a full shave down–with the exception of Dora’s ears and tail–every four weeks. Sometimes their mom asks for just a mini-groom, but she never lets them get very long. This time, it’s been over two months, two grooms in a row, that they got the winter cut. Here’s Maggie, sporting the adorable fuzzy schnauzer look.

Maggie tucks her back legs under her because she has problems with them. Sometimes she starts to roll over backwards, so Groomer Mom positions her against the wall to help her stay steady in her sit position. Maggie will be 14 this year and has been our much-loved client since May of 2013 when she was five.

Maggie’s sister, Dora, was four when she started coming here the same time as Maggie, meaning she’ll be turning 13 this year. She doesn’t seem to be quite sure what to make of that bow.

Until this groom, she’s never left here with her hair long enough to sport a pretty bow. We sorta hope it stays in and her Mom wants to keep that part of her hair long. Guess we’ll know in a month…

Next featured is 14-year-old Sunshine. Sunshine is a long haired cairn terrier/beagle mix. She’s got a great temperament and lots and lots of long hair. Her mom wants to keep her body and leg hair long. A large pile of undercoat comes out during a thorough brushing each groom even though her mom does a good job keeping her brushed. This is what she looked like a year ago post groom:

This time, she came to Groomer Mom with that long coat very matted. Her mom had been sick and unable to brush her. Groomer Mom is thankful that she has some magic lotion and a magic comb that loosens most mats and allows them to be removed. Also, her mom wanted her face shaved. This is how she now looks.

This Ace Reporter was reassured by Groomer Mom that yes, this really is the same dog!

I leave you with this quote from Groomer Mom, “Puppies are adorable and fun, but seniors who are used to being groomed are one *bleep* of a lot easier to groom.”

Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off with wags and licks and many thanks to  Comedy Plus  for the great job they do hosting Awww Mondays.

Grooming with Mom on Aww Monday: Oreo and Sunshine

Lucy, Ace Reporter here on the Groom Beat today.

First up is Oreo, the eight-year-old brother of Cooper, who Mom groomed a few weeks ago. Y’all might remember Coop, the darling pomeranian who started out on the groom table with about 87 pounds of hair and ended up – per his Mom’s request – like this:

Cooper

Oreo is half pom and half chihuahua. Once again, Groomer Mom was neglectful in getting a “before” picture, but he looked so much like furry Cooper that she thought that was who his Mom had in her arms.

When Groomer Mom was trying to clean out Oreo’s ears, he grabbed her hand with his teeth and said, “I don’t like that!” Just to be safe, Groomer Mom slapped a muzzle on his face and finished his ears and nails. He figured out she wasn’t going to listen to him and there wasn’t anything he could do about it, so he sat still and let her do her thing. He ended up being a really nice – if kind of scared – pup, giving Mom hugs and kisses while she told him what a good boy he is. Here is the finished product, er, dog.

Oreo

Our second featured groom today is a precious 13-year-old who has been here once before. Groomer Mom neglected to even record the previous visit, although she remembers it well. Sunshine’s Mom is a new client who sees our grooming sign every time she drives through the neighborhood to her daughter’s house. She called Groomer Mom and explained she has a terrior mix who needed a bath and a few areas – such as face, paws and behind – trimmed. Mom says here’s a perfect example of ass-uming. She assumed this pup – Sunshine – had short hair and would take less than an hour. Boy, was she wrong. Here is Sunshine before her groom.

Sunshine is a Cairne terrier and beagle mix. She has lots and lots of thick undercoat (that’s a grooming term) that Mom spent at least a half hour just brushing. While under the dryer (another grooming phrase) Sunshine went wee-wee in the kennel and had to have a second bath. At this point Groomer Mom texted her next client and pushed the appointment back by a half hour. That was Sunshine’s first time here

This time Mom kept her on the table after her bath and gave her a blow-out (I think this is a hair-dresser’s term). Here is Sunshine after her trim, bath and blow-out.

Doesn’t she look happier? She even said, “Come closer and let me give you more kisses, Miss Amy.”

We join Comedy Plus with much thanks for hosting Awww Mondays.

This is Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off and wishing everyone a happy weekend.

We Lost a Friend

Roxie was one special Cairn Terrier girl. She lived with her Mom and Dad within a short walking distance of us, and her Mom brought her here to be groomed about every 3 months. First, though, Roxie would take a dose of something to calm her nerves about getting groomed, especially having her nails cut. I would often sit next to the grooming table and send Zen thoughts her way. Roxie started coming to us way back in 2013, when she was six.

This picture is when she was about 10. She was so happy to be going home, and had already gotten her beard wet from getting a drink of water.

Mom always gave her a scissor cut, which takes longer and left more time for her and Roxie’s Mom to visit. Roxie’s Mom always had lots of good stories to share, and sometimes brought homemade goodies for them to eat. (I never got any.)

Roxie’s almost 12 in this picture.

Sometimes Roxie would be out in the front yard when Mom took me and Xena for a walk past her house. She would always come over, wagging her tail to say hello and wassup? After a few minutes of visiting she would return to her house and we would return to ours.

We could see her going downhill. She lost a lot of weight and just looked old. In this last picture, her Mom had said to just trim everything short so Roxie didn’t have to keep getting her face washed (like Xena does).

We loved Roxie, and are so sad she had to leave us. POTP for her Mom and Dad.

“A house without a dog is not a home.”

Rest in peace, sweet girl, and please give Angel Lexi our love when you get to the other side of the bridge. She’s probably in the “Oz” section.

Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess