Haircut Day

Not for me (though I certainly need one), but for the dogs. A few times during the warm months, Liz and one of the daughters gets down on the floor and shaves Sam and Trix. It's a two-person job, and I only get involved towards the end when the dog has had enough and starts to really squirm.

The dogs do appreciate the results, but at best only tolerate the process. If Liz didn't do it, I'd probably just schlep them down to PetSmart or something and pay to have someone else deal with it. Liz soothes and talks and plays quiet music while she does it, whereas I'm the "Sit. Stay." kinda barber. She's also a lot more particular about results. To me, short is good enough, I'm not gonna worry about making a dog beautiful.

Sam is first today, and Trix (the younger) is clinging to my side, fretting and having mini-nervous breakdowns every time Sam whines or yelps. If I sit down, Trix the empath wants up in my lap and snuggles in, worried to death.

Liz just hollered down the stairs that we now have three dogs, the pile of hair removed from Sam being large enough to have it's own name. The birds are gonna love it when we put the fur out for nest building.

To compensate for not helping with haircut day, I take care of the crappy little chores that nobody gets around to around the house. This morning I've cleaned the aquarium, dealt with the houseplants and overwintered outside plants in the basement and might run to the grocery store later.

Liz calls it "guilt putzing".

Posted by Ted at March 14, 2004 11:05 AM | TrackBack