Finally, Finally....Fudge and Vern Get to the Groomers!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

My groomer is finally back after having surgery and ready to groom dogs again.  Sometimes, she grooms both dogs on the same day, but since she is still recovering, she decided to take one on Thursday and one on Friday.  I suspect, however, the real reason she opted not to do them together is because I sounded somewhat desperate over the phone and used words like homeless, matted, gross, and disgusting.  She probably figured it would be in her best interest not to be standing on her feet all day and all night grooming my two dogs.  I cannot begin to tell you how ready my dogs were to see her and there will be no before pictures. If there were, it would only be a matter of time until the Grooming group dispatched a delegate to remove my doodles from our home.  I have heard some of those members can be very thorough with those Les Poochs brushes.

 

The drive to the groomers is always interesting.  I swear Fudge knows the minute I pull out of the driveway where we are going. I find myself saying things to my husband like, “we are going to the g-r-o-o-m-e-r-s today,” just so I don’t give Fudge a heads up. My sweet, clueless, little Vern, on the other hand, gets in the van like he doesn’t have a care in the world.  All the way there, I can sense Fudge’s nervous energy, but Vern is looking out the window like he has never gone this route before.  The groomer’s driveway goes downhill and is all gravel. This makes it interesting after a good rain, but today, I was getting down that hill in my kayak, if need be, and delivering one of my dogs to her shop. My groomer has a Llama, goats, guinea hens, cats, dogs, rabbits, and a horse on her property and this makes the ride down even more fun. Fudge likes to say hello to all the animals and then Vern joins in because he wants to be friendly too. Usually, I am screaming, “QUIET!” and dodging guinea hens as we go. I would hate to show up for an appointment with one of those hens stuck in my front bumper.

 

Once we got to her shop, I left my dogs in the car, while I went in to butter her up discuss which dog she wanted to go first.  Right away, she said since Fudge is smaller she would start with her, but I got down on my knees and begged her to pick Vern instead. I did tell her not to do anything that would affect her recovery, but I think she saw in my eyes that I was one step away from going over the edge and taking her with me if she said no. Luckily, she came around to my way of thinking and took Vern.  Before I went back to the van for Vern, we both looked out the window and Vern was sitting in the front passenger seat and Fudge was in the driver’s seat.  I was glad I had not left the keys in the ignition, because I swear Fudge is smart enough to drive the van home. Fudge was waiting on pins and needles to see if she was going inside that shop and Vern was looking around like he was starting to remember that he didn’t like this place. I felt like a terrible mother having to choose between two children, but really what choice did I have? Vern stunk more than Fudge and spends 80% of his day rolling in stuff, and I felt that made him the obvious front-runner to go first.

 

Vern went in to the shop with his tail wagging. He was even happier when he saw a couple of cats inside. Some of the happiness disappeared when she asked him to get up on the table and he realized he was not there just to stare intensely at the cats. A treat seemed to help him see it wouldn't be all bad.  The relief on Fudge’s face when I got back in the car was priceless. She could not stop giving me kisses of gratitude.  I tried to tell her that her reprieve was only good for 24 hours, but she was too happy to care. Tomorrow, we do it all over again.

 

Vern just got home. He looks half the size he did when I took him in, because I told her to cut his hair very short.  I am a very easy client. I don’t care if the cut is poodle like or doodle like. All I want is for Vern to be clean for one whole day and that is exactly what I got.   Fudge will be getting the same cut with the same directions.  Everyone is happy except Vern. The first thing he did when I took them for a walk was to roll in the grass. I could hardly keep him upright. So far, he has rolled in the driveway, jumped through the ground cover, and done somersaults on his bed. Already, he is sporting a coat of leaves. At this rate, he will have the clean off by Saturday. Next time, I think I will wish for two days of clean.  

 

 

 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I have not posted any pictures, Sherri. I need to take some first...LOL!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

where are the pictures! Did I miss them? I have so much trouble keeping up with the blogs section...

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Susan, Vern is pretty short. His cut is a little choppy right now, since I "helped" the groomer a little bit. I need to get some pictures up. Tell Sasha he was clean for a day, but is just about back to normal. I think Sasha will still find him adorable :)

[Susan and Sasha]

Lol...So funny Laurie!

So...just how short is Vern?

I'm sure he looks as handsome as ever...and that  nice clean smell just might last for a day or two!!

Sasha can't wait to see him all spuced up!! 

 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Leslie, It is funny what words they understand. If we say "Prinny," they both know that is the cat. Vern is very manly if it is defined by dirty....LOL!!

[Leslie and Halas]

Vern probably just doesn't want to smell too pretty, so, really, he has to roll in things when he gets home to seem manly.  Halas loves going to the groomer.  If I say Tina the Groomer out loud, he gets really, really excited.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Whaaat...no pictures????

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Anna, It always nice to have a reminder of a sweet dog we loved, isn't it?? How funny about looking for the car keys..LOL!

Deanna, Wasn't that sweet of that father to put his daughter in jeopardy so he could get his beer? Can you say LOSER!! How funny about Sedona. Fudge moved immediately to the driver's seat and almost got away from me when I circled around, but this old gal still has some moves :) She shakes all the way in and I keep telling her it is a spa day, but I don't think she agrees. You are lucky you can pick Sedona up. No way could I lift Vern off the ground, but luckily, he goes right in before he gets a clue...LOL!!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I just saw a news report about a nine-year-old girl driving her drunk father to the liquor store (at 3:30 in the morning).  Looks like the follow-up story will be two doodles escaping from the groomers in their mother's car!

Sedona's pretty much on the same page as Fudge regarding trips to the groomer.  She's much better now, but at one time she'd refuse to get out of the car, so we'd have to lift her out.  Once on the ground, she'd lock her knees, becoming a pull toy that we'd either have to drag across the driveway or give in and pick her up.  :(  

[Anna and Achilles]

I love that they were in the driver and passenger seats. It gave me a warm fuzzy memory of my Houdini. Whenever we took hm for a ride, which he loved he would immediately get in the driver seat and look like he was looking for the keys.