Furry Friends

Need A Great Dog Groomer? —- Maybe DIY

As President of the CB Canine Club, many new members ask if I can recommend a good groomer for their fur baby. Two of our recent new members; Dale and Karen Girvan, have the best groomers for Lady and Baxter - they do it themselves!

As many of you know, I “inherited” my Buddy when he was found (by Howard) wandering the CB neighborhood. Neighbors took him in, cleaned him up, and it was decided my little Elsa needed a Buddy. Buddy has been a great “inheritance” to Elsa and I.

Dale and Karen too, “inherited” Lady and Baxter. Their daughter, 3 grandchildren and two lovely dogs (yes, Lady and Baxter) drove up from Texas for a visit during the kid’s spring break last year. Unbeknownst to Dale and Karen, she wanted to leave the dogs with them when they went back home. She asked if they would take her fur babies because she had returned to work full time and was overwhelmed managing 3 kids and the pups. (I can relate having 3 children under the age of 5, working full time, and having 2 dogs myself). She did not want to give them to anyone else and she and the kids wanted to continue to be part of their lives. Dale and Karen agreed to take them on a 6-month trial basis. (We’ve all been there, a loved one needs help, and we answer.) One week later, they fell madly in love with them and agreed to keep them forever.

Lady and Baxter, a Shih tzu/Bichon mix, were 5 years old and had never been to a professional groomer. Karen brought them to two different groomers and found they were just too “freaked” out. She was concerned with the level of stress they were experiencing and did not want to cause them more stress by changing groomers again and again. Karen, once she makes up her mind, jumps all in. She spent hours on “YouTube University” learning all the tricks of the trade for dog grooming, as well as, researching the best grooming products and tools to use on small dogs. She purchased “Professional” grade equipment and even though the initial set up was expensive, it only took 6 months for the return on her investment.

Today, Karen is very happy with her decision to DIY. It was evident when I visited, Lady and Baxter were very comfortable having Karen groom them. They sat comfortably on the table without any restraints and more importantly zero stress. Not only does she get personal enjoyment grooming them, but it is on her schedule and more convenient.

As I said, Karen jumps all in and having taken in Lady and Baxter, she does not stop at grooming. She brushes their teeth EVERY day (who does that?). Yes, you read that right. That is not all, Dale spends several hours every two weeks on shopping and meal preparation to provide Lady and Baxter with a raw diet (per experts, a raw diet is the best diet for a pet’s overall health and wellbeing). But that is for another article.

Bottom line, if you want your pup to have great health, maybe you should consider DIY!! When I die, I want to come back as one of Karen & Dale’s dogs

Article submitted by Chris Hanson, President of the CB Canine Club