Shave & a Haircut...Two Bits

My boys.  Rocky.  Hunter.  My fuzzy boys.  Friday was The Day.  It was Grooming for Summer day.  I know summer is a ways off, but I was lucky to get a spot, or else I'd have had to wait for another month.  They were sorely overdue.  Especially Hunter.  Poor guy.

Grooming day is not much fun for those being groomed.  But I try to make it easy on them.  You see, I bring the groomer to them.  No trip to the vet.  No stress over other dogs in a waiting room.  Nope.  They get a traveling bathhouse for dogs.  It's pretty cool. A truck about the size of a small moving van comes and parks on the road. In the back is all the tools a dog groomer needs.  An hour later and Viola!  Clean doggies.

Other than the scarf around Rocky's neck, he doesn't look much different.

The scarf, by the way, is a bone of contention for The Hubs.  He hates them, and the dogs do too.  But the teasing, "mean mommy" in me makes them wear them until The Hubs comes home.  First thing he does is take them right off.  I won't repeat the words he uses to describe how he feels about them, but trust me... it's quite passionate.  His "butch" dogs shouldn't be "decorated".  I just get a giggle out of it (seriously... look at Hunter... does he look "butch"?), but don't tell him.

Back to Rocky.  Trust me, even though you can't SEE it,  he's clean and silky and he smells oh-so much better!  I love hugging him and burying my face in his fur.  Here's a before and after shot just so I don't leave him out... and by the way, he is very camera shy.  He does EVERYTHING he can to mess up a good shot. 

Anyway, here's Rocky "before":

This was this past winter... just a few months

ago... again, he wouldn't turn around for me

to take a photo... sorry about the backside shot.

And here he is "after":

He had no clue I was taking a photo, which is why I

was able to get an almost-full face shot.  Seriously,

He KNOWS.

Yep, he saw me with the camera and looked away. If

he hadn't, this would have been a great photo!

Can't tell a whole lot of difference, huh?  By the way, here he is right before I got the semi-decent shot at the top of the post.  He was full-face on, but ruined it just as I snapped the shot:

Hunter is such a good poser!

I wish Rocky would sit still for photos, but he's quite camera shy.  I'd love to capture his too-sad, puppy eyes when he wants something.  Oh well.

But here's the one you can really see a difference.  Hunter.  My boy.  The dog who stole my heart when I wanted No! More! Animals!  He wasn't the last animal in the house, but so far he's the last dog.  I never wanted a small dog.  I've always been a "big dog" girl.  Even Rocky was considered small, in my mind, even though he's tall enough that  Hunter can walk underneath him without crouching.  Hunter... my baby boy.  He's a Cocker Spaniel that we picked up as a stray.  I love him at all levels of furry, but it's mid-way between "now" and "then" where I love him most. 

Anyway... here is His Furry Cuteness "before" the grooming:

This was that same time as Rocky in the window -

it was snowing outside.  The snow is why we let

his fur grow this long... helps keep him warm.

This was just a fe days before the grooming.  He's a

canine dust mop!

And here he is now:

He just looked at me as if to say, "Mom,

WHY?"  He's SO little, too, after shaving

all the fur off.  Such a cutie!

He is so upset... and cold.  He is constantly trying to snuggle in with me and, well, I don't mind one bit.  As long as he continues to smell good.  He'll thank me for it as it heats up.  His very friendly and wiggly personality comes across so differently when he's shaved down like this compared to when he's all shaggy.  It's like having a different dog for the summer. 

Man-oh-man, though... once a year to shave Hunter down is plenty to drain my pockets.  Lemme jes' say, it ain't no "two bits"! 

But for this face...

...I'd pay just about anything.