To this:
So, yeah. I didn't want one little haircut to turn Mr. Duncan Doodle into a meth addict.
HE'S BARELY FIVE MONTHS OLD. HE SHOULDN'T KNOW WHAT METH IS!
Omg. I think I just became Cathie. I get it now. Also, I feel a strong urge to quilt and eavesdrop in grocery stores.
In addition to not wanting my baby to fall into the perils of drug life, I didn't want him to be mad at me. When Mr. Pants got the haircut referenced above (one which we still talk about only in hushed voices) he was so angry at Matt that the next day when I pulled up to Matt's house, Ollie bolted for my car and jumped into it the moment I opened the door. This was weird behavior for Ollie because he doesn't really care for riding in the car.
Look. My relationship with Duncan is the most stable relationship in my life at the moment. We live together. We love one another. We wear each other's clothes. We've got each other's backs. I didn't want to risk this.
But then Matt told me that my animal looked homeless and that I couldn't avoid this forever. He referred me to a good place--not the one that did the unthinkable to Ollie--and so I called them.
Taking Mr. Doodle to this place was nearly as traumatic for me as taking him to get neutered.
I walked him in, holding him like a baby, and whispering things like "I'm so sorry" and "please love me after this."
The groomer was a friendly as can be, calming my nerves and excitedly taking Duncan from my arms. He told me he was going to make Duncan "as cute as possible."
I doubted him. Because how can you improve on this:
I only hoped that they wouldn't make him ugly.
And then I left.
I waited for four hours, believing the entire time that Duncan was being tortured.
They finally called me and I rushed back in with a level of determination I otherwise only have when I see taco trucks.
I fully expected Mr. Doodle to run for me, crying, traumatized, and looking like a shaved rat.
None of that happened.
He ran around playing with a couple of other puppies in the back, looking like he was at Disneyland. The people who worked at the place told me that Duncan may actually be the cutest dog they have ever had there.
They had to go retrieve him. Like his dad was there to pick him up and ruin his play date.
I've never seen him as happy at home as he looked at the groomer.
And somehow, even though he was already the cutest animal in all the land, he was even cuter after his haircut.
So, yeah. My animal is perfect and I'm very pleased with this.
~It Just Gets Stranger
GAH! Even cuter now!
ReplyDeleteIf he had so much fun playing with the other dogs, then he clearly needs a sibling! You better get cracking on #2-- those ovaries aren't getting any younger!
ReplyDelete{Chuckles to self and internet-high fives every other woman in the world who has, for any length of time, had one child.}
Or any woman who has four children, all girls, and hears on the daily that I better get that boy soon! What? Aren't I desperately trying for a boy? (Do I really have to discuss this with strangers in the grocery store?!) So yeah, I will take that Internet high five!
DeleteI'll take that high five too, and Amy, right??!! I get that with my three girls, too, and I just want to ask people "What, you don't think my three beautiful girls are good enough?" Like my life is somehow incomplete just because I don't have a son. I adore my family just the way it is, thank you very much!
DeleteOhmygosh, YES. I am one of five girls, and I thought it was so rude when my Mom was pregnant with my youngest sister and everyone had to make some stupid comment about, "Last try for a boy!" I mean-- hello, I was standing right there! My Dad would shut them up quickly by saying, "If it's a boy, he's going to wear dresses and play with dolls, because we aren't buying all new stuff for kid #5!" Thanks, Dad!
DeleteWhen I ended up with a mix of boys and girls, I was happy just so I wouldn't have to hear those dumb comments. Not because I actually cared which gender I had!
Yes, yes, yes. The worst is when people ask me "how does dad like that?" With a look on their face like it must be torture for him? The craziest was some random lady who insisted my husband must have "been very naughty to deserve four daughters!" I was completely dumbfounded, I don't even know... high fives all around!
DeleteI don't really know how to respond when people compliment me on having 2 of each gender. Sigh. The things that get said . . .
DeleteAnd Ames, your mister is such a wonderful father of girls.
While I was laying on the table after they cut my baby girl out of me (c-section), the anesthesiologist said, "She needs a brother!"
DeleteI hadn't even held her yet!
I love his arm floofs.
ReplyDeleteThe cutest puppy in all the land! (Until I get a dog.)
ReplyDeleteWhat type of dog is Duncan? He's adorable!
ReplyDeleteHe's a King Charles Cavalier Poodle mix (a cavoodle). They have the brains of the poodle and the friendliness of the cavalier. So it's basically a perfect animal.
DeleteI wouldn't brag about the brains of a poodle - my next door neighbor has one and she's one of the dumbest dogs I've ever encountered.
Deletehttps://www.caninejournal.com/poodle/
DeleteMy neighbor's dog must be defective . . . .
DeleteThat was my thinking when I got my Shih-Poo. I've had a couple Shih Tzu's and though they are the cutest dogs, they aren't much in the brains/training department. So I says to myself, "Self, you should get a smart poodle crossed with a cute Shih Tzu and experience perfection!" I did just that, and... I have a cute Shih Tzu looking dog with a slightly longer nose and apparently a Shih Tzu brain. The only poodle I can find in him is his propensity to bark and the slight curl to his hair. But hey, at least he's hypo-allergenic and cute. My next dog will be a Golden Retriever. I am determined to have a dog that will actually comprehend basic commands. (Yes we did puppy obedience classes. It didn't stick despite my efforts to keep training at home. I have now surrendered to my fate.)
DeleteWe have a shihtzu-poo named Jake that looks very similar to Duncandoodle. He's also black with splashes of white markings, and I LOVE getting him groomed because he's got curly hair, and having it all clean and brushed out is just nice for him. (He and I communicate telepathically. I know, it sounds weird, but it's just science, and he told me about a year ago that he needs weekly baths, and bi-weekly groomings to keep the hair out of his eyes, and dadgummit, that is what we do now. Because it's what he WANTS.)
ReplyDeleteOur dogs (we're stupid and we have 3) go to puppy daycare twice a week, so they can get that whole "playing with other dogs" thing out of their systems. Even though they have each other EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, it's different somehow, I don't understand it, that's not one of the things that they communicate to me telepathically because they're rude like that. But anywho, you should look into taking Duncan to a daycare place once a week! I bet he'd love it. :D
Obviously post a picture of that dog on Imzy right now.
DeleteSo far Duncan spends 70% of his time with Ollie and it hasn't gotten old to him yet so he still just plays and plays and plays. I need to try and take him back to the dog park again but our first experience was so traumatic so I'm kind of scared.
A Shitzu-poo? I'm sure it's adorable but couldn't they come up with a better breed name, like Shoodle? Shitzu-poo sounds...unfortunate, but not as unfortuant as a Poo-zu.
DeleteI have always heard those dogs called Shi-poo, and yes all the jokes.
DeleteI've always said that he lives up to his breed name, 100%! He's my little guy, and I love him to pieces, but he is DEFINITELY a little shihtzu-poo on some days!
DeleteI'll post a pic of him on Imzy for ya, Eli. Sorry it took me a while to come back and see these responses. I've been lazy because I have a black eye AND shingles at the same time, and it sucks.
HE's so distinguished! Sign this pup up for every dog show from coast to coast! Y'all need to show the country what great fur/hair look like.
ReplyDeleteI have a dog. She is a white German Shepherd. She is a magnificent animal, and she knows it. If I ever took her to get groomed I think the resulting magnificence would create such a vacuum in space that the-once-was-then-wasn't-now-is-again planet, Pluto, would be sucked into the center of it and then scientists would have to find something new to debate over; like how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to be responsible for a catastrophe like that, no sir.
But maybe one day the world will be ready for it. You'll know when.
DeleteYou should do a doggie DNA test on Duncan https://www.caninejournal.com/dog-dna-tests-reviews/
ReplyDeleteHe is the only creature that can rock a chin patch. Everyone else (I'm looking at you Howie Mandel) give up now!
I have to regularly groom my Shih-Poo almost down to his skin because of his skin condition. He is definitely less cute at those times but noticeably feels better. So I have to deal with that trade-off. I also have to groom him myself because he had a bad experience with a groomer and now basically has a nervous breakdown if we try to take him anywhere and leave him - boarding him on vacation also was a disaster, he totally lost his mind (what little he started with) and was being aggressive with the employees, refused to eat, etc. the whole time we were gone. I think we got a dud but I love him to pieces anyway. Except when he starts randomly barking at nothing like there is a murderer in the house or barks when one of my sons just speaks and will NOT stop no matter how many times I tell him to be quiet. At those times I admit I love him just a tiny bit less. Because, seriously...is 'no, stop' really such a hard command to follow? This tells me he's not trying to protect me (or he'd stop when I tell him it's okay) and is just exhibiting little dog complex.
ReplyDeleteNice blog
ReplyDelete