My dogs are a mess. Every time they got mud on more than just their paws this winter--practically every other day--I hosed them off or sprayed them in the shower, depending on how cold it was, then dried them with a towel. They had some full baths in there, too. (I didn't give them a complete bath every time because I didn't want to wash the oil out of their skin and make them itchy.) As a result of the frequent towel-drying, their fur is a matted mass of tangles.
Levi's beautiful feathery tail has turned into dreadlocks.
Last Monday we had warmer temperatures, and the weatherman predicted we'd have several days of sunshine. That night Gimpy fell asleep on the sofa beside me. I sneaked the dog scissors out of the drawer and started giving him a very close haircut. It takes hours, so I knew I wouldn't finish, but I thought I'd get a start on it and do the rest the next day.
The next day, Tuesday, was colder. I thought maybe Gimpy should keep his warm fur until the cold snap was over, so I postponed the rest of the haircut. Wednesday was colder still. In fact, each day of the past week has been colder than the day before. This morning we woke up to this:
Someone told me it was 27 degrees outside this morning, and there was poor Gimpy, still running around with half his heinie sticking out:
Bless his heart! I'm glad he doesn't know how bad he looks, but I wonder if he can feel the breeze.
Starting tomorrow it's supposed to warm up again. I'm hoping to get both dogs de-matted in the coming week. If it gets cold again after that, they'll have to wear their coats.
Scott accuses me of controlling the weather. During the winter, every time I take the dogs to the groomer we get a cold blast the next day, almost without fail. It's a little unnerving. The poor babies just shiver the next day and have to wear their red fleece sweaters.
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