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| - Six years ago, I adopted an old lady schnauzer from the Sanctuary for Senior Dogs. Lovely, feisty gal who loved me but loved food more, she came to work with me every day for 5 1/2 years. Her no-shedding quality was great, but I did not have the skill to groom her properly; she recoiled as if in pain when I trimmed her nails (heck, the cat lets me trim his) and I had no clue as to how to pluck the hair from inside her ears. A friend recommended Petco, and Dawne groomed Mo dog all those years - a number of times, drivers would stop, roll down a window, and tell me what a lovely pooch she was. She died last year, and the outpouring of love from clients was a comforting surprise.
Six or seven months later, after checking Petfinder once in a while, a photo of a schnauzer found as a stray caught my eye. A rescue in Toledo had scooped him from the jaws of a high-kill shelter. We took Waldo home and gave him weeks to decompress; little by little, his trembling lessened, he found the courage to bark (but not the courage to chase our cat!), and is becoming the gentle boy who loves when children come into the office.
Dawne no longer works at Petco, so I tried a different grooming salon; I had met and talked with one of their groomers at a work event, and she seemed professional and caring. When I called to make the appointment, I asked for this particular groomer; when Waldo and I arrived, she was not there, but the woman who greeted me told me that she was the owner of the business, reviewed what she would be doing for Waldo, and gave me a time to come pick him up. When I returned, I opened the shop door to some of the loudest music I have ever heard, so loud that no one realized I had come in. The shop owner finally came out, explained that it would be about half an hour longer, and I ran an errand before going back to pick up my pooch. The owner had not told me that she does not take credit cards, so it was fortunate that I happened to have my checkbook with me that day. Few dogs actually enjoy going to the groomer, but as the owner told me that they had to hold Waldo down to trim his nails, I decided that this was not our new groomer. The cost was more than I had ever paid at Petco, and Waldo's coat was not cut as it should have been.
More weeks for Waldo to decompress, during which we made a couple of trips to Petco for toys - he has come further out of his shell, and is beginning to play occasionally. One of the groomers waved at me one day, and I stepped into the salon to say hi, and ask if she (Jessie) had time to trim Waldo's nails, warning her that the first groomer had found it necessary to have someone hold him down. At that, Jessie frowned, and assured me that it would only take a few minutes; I took the bill to the cashier, paid for the service, and when I turned around to head to the toy aisle, Jessie was signaling to me that she was done, and Waldo would like to waltz down the toy aisle with me. No drama.
Today, it was time for a full grooming, and yes, Waldo shivered as Jessie guided him through the door. I returned a couple of hours later to pick him up, and Waldo looked amazing! He smells clean, the haircut is sharp, and his coat is so smooth and silky (the wiry feeling of his hair has lessened a bit as I've fed him well and brushed him these past four months, but this is beyond what I thought he could have). Jessie was wonderful with him; she did tell me that he growled when she trimmed his front nails this time, but that he was shrinking back, not being aggressive, and she worked quickly for him, and that the plucking of the ear hair was no big deal at all.
Jessie worked wonders for Waldo, and Jessie is our groomer now. Waldo was adorable, and Jessie ratcheted him up to sharp, schnazzy schnauzer (say that three times fast). Jessie rocks.
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