I’m not going to mention a name, so don’t ask, but one of the dogs I handled today afforded me a whole new realm of experience. After yesterday’s “messy butt poodle”, this poor little soul was in a bigger crises.
I could tell shortly after the dog arrived this morning that she didn’t feel well. She wasn’t her usual cheery, outgoing self. Her “parents” had gone into the city for the day and so I had several hours to groom this dog, her sister, and some others.
After lunch, I picked up this dear girl and found that she had a huge lump under her tail… not that shocking for someone like me, but then I realized that the skin was stretched and red. There would be no whisking this revolting blob off the dog or out of the fur.
So I set the dog in the raised bathtub, and ran a steady stream of tepid water over the area. Eventually I could snip the fur with my scissors, and then I put a glove on and massaged the sore skin gently. The dog’s anus gave birth to a ball of feces the size of an orange: how horrific!
What was surprising was that there was no blood, no tearing of the tender mucosa. Oh my goodness, this dog must have felt relief. I am not a vet, but I imagine that this issue might have become life-threatening in a matter of another day or two, from shock or infection.
At any rate, I felt pleased that I had helped the doggie, and proceeded to give her the rest of the spa treatment as scheduled. The owners feel badly but were unaware. They had noted that their pet didn’t seem to be herself, but couldn’t see the problem.
After all this treatment, my patient/client seemed like a different dog, like her old self. Once the problem was resolved as far as I could take it, I posted the above picture in a Facebook Group called, “Unbelievable Shit Groomers See”, and another member said that I get the prize! Within a few minutes, there were dozens of comments. Who knew a poor little dog’s anus could go almost “viral” on the Internet?
I also groomed this wee thing today. I just love her innocent face:
Bella
Cocker Spaniels are often not very cooperative for groomers. “Onus” is very much an exception; she is good for everything, such as toenails, combing out tangles, the bath, the blow dryer. She is amazing to groom!
This is Bella. She also is excellent for behaviour in all ways.
All in all, this was a more relaxed day than yesterday. Beastie, the big German Shepherd, seems more at peace. Ghost, Nugget and Zippy went home. I never worry when there’s a “lull” in the boarding numbers, as this can change from quiet to full house in a day. Tomorrow I have a few dogs scheduled for grooming.
Now I’ve added to my Blog three times in two days! Does this make up for all the times I neglect to post for weeks and weeks? I hope so. I hope I haven’t been boring you, and I hope tonight’s graphic post didn’t disturb you too much.
Love, Ann
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