Heigh, ho, to the groomers we go!

Don't know that you can tell the difference--it's hard to photograph a black dog, but Sophie belatedly got a hair cut today. Above is fuzzy Sophie, and to the right is new Sophie. Her border collie/poodle coat was out of control--and smelly to boot in spite of baths. I labored under the delusion (I do that a lot) that God gave dogs their coats for a purpose, and I shouldn't mess with it. But I finally wrote the breeder, who said a wise thing to me, "Doodles are man-made mutations, not dogs as God created them." Short answer: 1" all around, 1-1/2 to 2 inches on the face." She sent me a picture, and this morning Sophie and I happily went off to the groomers--well, I was happy. Bad news: she was so matted all they could do was shave her. "One inch?" I asked hopefully. "Nope, shave. She won't look anything like she does now. Be prepared." I begged for saving as much face and tail hair as they could, so tonight I have this skinny small dog with a bushy face and bushy tail. She'll grow out to the right length in six weeks or so. Doesn't seem to have bothered her at all, and she's the same irrepressible personality.
Scooby missed her. He barked all day. Greg, the lawn guy, was here, and he said "Scooby's barking to find out where she is. He's gotten used to her." Scooby did give her a thorough sniff-check out when she came home.
Usually I have Scoob cut back to one-inch for summer. Not sure about it this summer, whether his disliking the trip to the groomer would balance out his discomfort. Got to think on that one. Owning dogs is not cheap!

Gone to the dogs

Today was dog day at my house. About nine, I took Sophie to the grooming parlor, Glamour Paws. Asked for a shampoo, trim around the eys and bottom, nails cut, and agreed to tooth brushing for another $10. I sure can't brush her teeth!
Next Scooby went to the vet. His bark has gotten hoarse lately and he has a bit of a cough, plus he isn't eating well and I was sure he had lost weight. Wrong--he gained ten lbs. in the last year!The vet talked about all the possibilities behind the hoarseness but I choose to think it's kennel cough--and so does she. So Scooby is getting antibiotics and cough medicine. Physical examination showed him to be in very good condition for his eleven years--no apparent structural problems causing the occasional collapse of his back legs and he was nimble getting in and out of the car--no small trick for a good-sized dog in the back seat of a VW bug. The vet said the leg problem could be neurological--another thing, I'd prefer not to think about. She called this evening with results of blood work--outstanding for his age. Neither diabetes nor hypothyroidism can be blamed for his weight gain (I  know just how he feels!)  So I have a geraitric Australian shepherd with a cough, a hoarse bark and a tendency for his back legs to give out.
Sophie is another story. They called to report there would be an extra $20 charge because she was matted--I could have told them that. But when I went to pick her up, I nearly laughed. I took one dog and got back another. Here are before and after pictures:

They trimmed her face like a poodle! Okay, I know she's part poodle, but I like the au naturel--just wanted the hair right around her eyes trimmed back. And she's so fluffy and huge--we always joked that the before Sophie was mostly hair and probably really skinny soaking wet. Now's she's twice the size and so fluffy, her coat, once coarse, is soft beyond belief. It won't stay that way. I learned one thing: we can attribute her smelly coat to the trrait that's supposed to make her desirable. If she doesn't shed, she smells. Apparently the day at the beauty parlor exhuasted her. She's tapped out at my feet.
When Jordan came by, she showed me pictures from the weekend memorial service for her father. He lived on beautiful land, and though many of the pictures showed a world so different from my world,  it made him happy and for that I'm glad. All of my children felt the weekend was a moving experience and were so glad they went, especially because they went together. And they were glad to see their Califiornia sister again. I think they came home enriched and probably a bit changed.