#Gizmo gets EXCITED and #groomed.

Apres baths: So clean

First, I put on my jacket and he jumps for joy.  Great, #smiling #leaps, both front legs on my crotch.  Hurray, hurray, something wonderful is going to happen today.

Then I get his leash.  Another explosion of joy unbound: wow!!  WE’RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING GREAT TODAY.   More leaps, more vigorous tail wagging.  Big smile, tongue out, panting:  this day will be beyond the beyond.

Then I open the door to the garage and he has a moment of doubt.  If I go through that door without him, his day will be sad, almost ruined.  NO!  He was wrong, especially when I say, “Want to come with?”   Does he ever!   Yes, yes and yes, more tail wagging, more of everything.

Then, I open the garage door as he sits by the driver’s rear door, staring with intense concentration at that door.  If his look could open the door, it would.

I open the door and before it is open wide enough for him to get in, he is making his leap.  He is heading for that treasured back seat.  And he will sit there until hell freezes over, if needs be, so that he is included in this ride.

We get to #Petco and he leaps out of the car, tail wagging, still convinced that this will be a wonderful day.  There is one moment of doubt as we enter the store.  He has been here before, the last time for a rabies booster shot only a few days ago.  Is he here for another shot?

No, we go to the grooming area and Pamala, who loves Gizmo, comes out to hug and purr over him.  He looks at me as if to ask: is this going to be all right?  I say, “Good dog,” and he seems somewhat mollified.  We leave.

Two and a half hours later, we pick him up, looking gorgeous, his white coat as white as it ever was, his hair looking soft and fleecy.  He jumps towards the door penning him into the grooming area, trying to reach me.  When Pamala opens the door, he rushes out and stands to greet me.  Then he greets Grace.  Then he greets me again.  And again. 

Was it the kind of good day he predicted for himself when we were at home?  I hope so because, in Pamala’s words, “He looks like a movie star.”  She says that he was so dirty that she had to empty the bath and refill it several times: first because it had black water, then grey water and finally tan water.

She asks, “Where was he that he got that dirty?”  My answer: the dog park, although just lying down on our often dusty floors could result in Gizmo collecting a lot of dirt.

We put him in the car, to which he prances.  We buy him some treats, and a new soft bottom for his cage.  We go home with a clean, beautiful and apparently happy dog.  A good day.

         “Ask a dog owner what kind of pet they have and they'll tell you the breed, ask a cat owner and they'll tell you it just shat in the laundry.”  Gareth Aveyard.