Random Weird stuff

My job is never boring.  If you have read much of this blog, you already know that.  People have strange requests.  They do strange things with their dogs.  They are just odd.  I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course. 

Right now we are in the middle of a very late spring in my area.  The snow is almost gone.. it's May 1st, for crying out loud!  The lakes are still frozen.  Fishing opener is in less than 2 weeks.  Some lakes still have 30 inches of ice on them.  The high was 45 degrees today.    This makes my income go down.

Why?  A couple of reasons. #1 because people think they can't get the dog  groomed if it's cold out.  They might freeze to death.  We had 2 warm days in a row, and I shaved 2 Golden Retrievers and at least 5 Springers.  What are those dogs doing now? Freezing?  I wonder if people think I'm cruel.  My dogs don't get shaved, even in the summer.. won't they die of heat stroke??   I don't think so.    People are starting to come around (or get desperate).  In any given day, we can have 1/2 our clients say "give him a summer trim, I think it's going to get warm soon", and the other 1/2 will say "leave him long.. he'll freeze".  Sigh.  Also, we rely greatly on seasonal residents.  Guess what?  They are smart enough to stay in FloridaArizonaTexasNewMexico until it gets warm.  If it was nice out, and the lakes were open, they'd have had their dogs groomed twice by now.  Oh well, this too shall pass. Watch out when it finally gets warm and stays warm.. the schedule will be crazy.

Weird stuff people do with their dogs:
I have a a client with a breed that is going to weigh close to 90 lbs at adulthood, and she still lets him jump into her arms at 6 months of age.  REally, people, think about it!  Hope she has a strong back.

We have a client who says her sibling dogs cannot walk on a leash, or even be on a leash.  They were "rescues" who were tied up when she adopted them, so they have been traumatized by having something around their necks.  She got these dogs at the age of 7 weeks!  I don't think they remember it (nor do I even think they were ever tied up)! She has been told many times that she must have them on leash when inside our facility.  In the past she has let them run willy-nilly around the place.. which is fine, until some Rottweiler decides to take a chunk out of one of them.  She now has her Dad meet her when she brings the dogs, then he carries one, and she carries one.  God forbid she just take them in one at a time.  Wow.

Weird requests:
Today I had a guy tell me to shave down his Springer, but leave her some "wings" so she still looks like a spaniel.  Wings??  I'm thinking, Feathers?  Skirt?  No.. he wanted some left on the ears.  Alrighty then.

Just plain funny stuff:
Today a client brought in her dog along with her 3 year old daughter.  As the dog was handed over to me, it became apparent that the girl was not happy.  Her face got sad, then just plain MAD.  "I DON'T WANT MOLLY TO STAY HERE!!!"  No matter how much we told her that Molly needed to get pretty today, or offer to let her choose Molly's bow color would make her happy.  She left crying.  When the owner came back to get the dog, she said that her daughter had cried all the way to preschool. When she picked her up from preschool, the teacher asked "What happened to Molly???"  Apparently this had been going on all day.  The client assured her that Molly had just gone for a haircut, nothing horrible. Poor kid.. can you imagine the sad story she was telling everyone at preschool?

Just plain dumb:
A client who had a dog in a very high maintenance scissored "show-type trim" had him groomed by J for the 1st time.  After a day of sweating it out, and working hard on the dog, who looked beautiful, we were holding our breath to see if she'd like the groom, and accept the price that was charged.  She had told J all about the horrible other groomings the dog had in the past.. that is never a good omen.  Surprisingly, she said she loved the groom, and gave J a large tip.  (another surprise).  She called yesterday to speak with a manager regarding her "bad experience with the groom".  The catch?  The dog was groomed a MONTH ago!!!!!!!!! NOW you are complaining?? What the heck?? I swear some people time these late complaints to get a free groom when the dog is due for the next haircut.  Not going to happen this time.

And finally, just plain crazy:
We had a boarding pet come in with his own nightlight.  It was in the shape of a cross.   Are cats afraid of the dark?