Good Morning, originally uploaded by punquin.

Hi.

I’ve been so busy, and when I’m not busy (which is rare), I’m exhausted. At work, I’ve been spending the first half of the day working on web updates and ad designs. The second half of the day I help with dog pick-ups and grooming.

Yesterday, I was asked to take on a groom for an old English sheepdog who was bumping into walls cause her hair was in her eyes. While our location is between groomers, the two of us that work that who have fine art degrees have become the ones who do all the minor trimming (no full hair-cuts). I think we both treat the hair as sculptural, and that helps us do a good job.

I agreed to groom Molly, then almost regretted it. Apparently her mom asked for an “emergency groom” because of the sad state she was in. Her body was fine, just dirty, but her face and ears were heavily matted. I combed out what I could, then gave her a bath and blow-out while training a new employee. She wasn’t a huge fan of the force-dryer, so I tried to start her cut while she was a little damp, but there was no way. I took her back to the dryer until her feet and hair were completely dry and shaped. I had a coworker try to hold her head still while I trimmed around her eyes. Poor thing had 2″ fur lid-to-lid, both above and below her eyes. I felt a little lost and frustrated, but once I took the hair down to a certain length, it all fell into place and I saw what to do. I definitely have respect for professional groomers.

With her face roughed in, I put her back up on the grooming table and started on the foot trim her mom requested. Feet are easy. I think I did a really good job on the back ones. And, I managed to clean up the last few stray hairs on her eyes.

I didn’t want to cut out her mats without her mom’s permission, as some parents can get really upset about that. Molly wasn’t cooperating to let me cut her front paws. I was able to cut the tops, but not the paw pads. As I was heading out to ask my coworker to help hold her again, I saw her mom come in. I told her about the matting (especially a bad one inside her ear) and her wiggling, and she offered to help hold her.

Molly’s mom was super nice and complementary. She wanted the mats cut out, even if it left her strange-looking. So Molly got quite the muzzle trim, which actually came out cute. It looks like she is smiling now.

Her mom told me not to worry about the fur on her front pads, but I did insist on her letting me finish trimming those nails. When she went up to pay, she tipped me $30 ($5 I tipped-out to the girl who helped with her bath) and tipped $10 to my coworker who helped hold her. She is so nice. So, after lots of nervousness and frustration, it all turned out well, and Molly looked cute and happy.

Today, I am working from home so I can drive Danny to the airport this evening. He is going to London for at least a week for work. It is going to be very lonely here without him. He took China to the vet today for her rabies shot and senior check-up. I was expecting them to return with ear infection meds (they did) and bad news about her teeth (yep), but I wasn’t expecting a cup that she’d need to pee into. China is the prissiest fucking dog when it comes to peeing, so I have no idea how that is going to work. I have to get that taken care of so I can schedule her dental procedure. They estimated a possible 2 extractions and a full cleaning, which is what I expected (and why I brush Benny’s teeth every night.) It will be expensive and anesthetized, but it must be done.

I’ve been taking daily pictures (though not always good ones), I just haven’t uploaded and labeled them all yet. The above picture is one. I go through phases where I’m so tired after work that it is hard to want to do any personal stuff online.

Who wants to get together this weekend and the coming week? I need to figure out how not to become a hermit while Danny is away…