Ann’s Weblog

These two beautiful boys are looking for a home or homes, if possible in the Robson Valley. The are both neutered and approximately 3 years old. I’ve had them here at the Pet Hostel for a few days, and know that they are intelligent and obedient.

The golden retriever is “Tucker” and the smaller rottweiler cross is “Levi”. The dogs lost both their home and their loving owner in a house fire two weeks ago. Despite this tragic event, the dogs are
gentle and well-adjusted.

As usual, click on the pictures to obtain a bigger image.

So… business has been steady… dogs and cats to care for, both to board and to groom. As well, I had the bunny and the lizard for two weeks.

I’m starting to look forward to Spring. I’m not very prone to “cabin fever” or anything like that, but once I started looking at the stack of seed catalogues which had reached the house, and several gardening magazines, I did feel like I’d had almost enough “hibernation” time. There are many things that need doing before life gets very busy again, like taxes and such, even spring cleaning. For the moment I’m just thinking ahead to the opening of the little garden centre and planting the vegetables, and so on. Spring will happen; it always does.

I forgot that I had other pictures on the camera. For a short time, we were without a fully functioning keyboard for this computer… I had sprayed cleaner on the old one, too liberally. I was pretty hard on myself for a little while, and allowed the old keyboard to dry for a day, but it became apparent that we needed a replacement. Now we have a very sleek new Apple keyboard, better than the old.

Below is pictured a little dog who shall remain unnamed. Her owner drove over one morning, without phoning first, saying that “the dog stinks and we can’t let her in the house”. Although that day I had a full day of grooming booked already, I told him to leave the little dog with me.

She was “hopelessly matted” and had a great deal of fecal matter stuck under her tail and around her vulva. I gloved up and went to work relieving the poor creature of this terrible mess, and was glad that I hadn’t turned her away for even a day. This kind of care was months overdue, whether it would be done by a groomer or by the owner. The dog was patient and quiet while I worked.

Both of the “before” pictures were taken AFTER I had started grooming; I had cleared away some yucky stuff from under the dog’s tail already. I guess if I can still say, “I love my job!” after this kind of work, I’m in the right business!

This girl was friendly and happy after the grooming was complete… not as humbled as she appears to be in the photo (pets are usually suspicious of the camera!). To her owner’s credit, the dog was in good health, including a proper body weight, aside from the extreme rashiness under her tail and little sore spots under her eyes.

I have some games of “Lexulous”… the Facebook version of Scrabble… started, and other players are waiting for me to take my turn. It’s nice to come in here and talk to you folks, but for now I’m all “talked out”.

Take care, one and all. ~ Ann

Okay, I’m back now… banking done, lunch eaten (good lunch, great visit), winning lottery ticket cashed ($2), and grocery shopping accomplished.

Here are some more pics:

Tika, a “long-term” boarder whose mistress is working at a nearby resort, is happy with us, and we with her. She goes in and out of the house just like one of our own, because she doesn’t leave the yard or even our sight. While doing her usual walkabout yesterday, she found a horse hoof trimming… a treat that many dogs enjoy for good chewing:

We finally had to let the little puppy “Molly” go home, but of course I reminded her family that we are always available for dog sitting should they get in a bind again. Molly loved our dog Lady, and Lady truly enjoyed romping with the pup:

One of the things that happened this week was that our sofa got reupholstered. Just last Monday we took our couch and two chairs to our friend who does that work, and he is already halfway done. He shyly suggested we pick up said couch in order to give him room to do the chairs…

I include this photo more to give my daughters an idea about the colour, than anything else. It’s a difficult hue to describe, as it is called “Avocado”, but is actually the colour of the RIND of avocado, and not the “green” of the flesh.

Gary has been busy building some basic doggy shelters to replace most that we already have, nine altogether. I have four in my shop in various stages of getting painted. This green is most unusual… it was a “mis-tint” for half price from the hardware store, and I really like it. It is a sort of “organic” colour, I think. When I run out of that paint, I’ll choose another, perhaps strange paint, for the rest of the houses. Perhaps there’s a rich purple in the mistints section.

I so love our cats. Pictured is Gilbert, who is resting on her ladder, as content as can be. She isn’t cold: she’d be allowed in the house, but prefers to be out hunting or surveying the world from the roof of the house, or other perches. On the right is the cat “Fiona”, also a spayed female, who was given to me by a physician who was moving out of town. Fiona lives in my grooming shop as she believes herself to be a princess.

Pictured below is Tugger, who has been a long term guest. I was worried that he had become a “lifer”, that he had been abandoned, but finally I heard from his owner. Tugger will be “sprung” from here by the end of January. He is a good boy and we have enjoyed his company.

I’ve come to the end of the pictures that I took yesterday. I should be out painting doghouses in my shop, but it’s almost time to put some supper together! I might rather watch “Holmes on Homes”, play Scrabulous and cook, maybe Chat too. Also, I had a delightful visit on the phone with my eldest daughter in Calgary, who was reading this blog even as I was working on this entry. I miss all three of my darling wee ones all of the time.

Thanks for reading my blog! Love, Ann/Mom

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