Well as you know from my last post Mom and Dad took me on a long journey upstate NY so Mom could learn how to hand strip me. I usually fall asleep in the car but we were taking roads I never had traveled on. I think I fell asleep about halfway through the drive which was ruffly 4 - 5 hours or so I'm told.
After a nice nap I finally woke up when the car came to a stop in our cousin Alexa and Dan's driveway. They have a big beautiful old house. I left a little pee-mail in the driveway and then in the house I went I ran right past my cousin Alexa to explore their house.
Oops! Whats this? A new furry cousin. This is Lilly, she was a very gracious hostess and greeted me with open paws.
Lilly was very happy to meet a new cousin.
Dad and Cousin Dan took me for a walk around Altamont to checkout the village. The night before we left I got a bath so I would be nice and clean for my grooming. Well when I got back to the house after walking through snow and slush, lots of slush I could have used an under carriage washing.
Well the next morning Mom, Dad, and I took a ride to Mr's Morris house for my grooming. We were driving and driving until there was nothing around but trees and the occasional horse.
It turns out Mr's Morris is Smitty's grandma. What a small world. When we went into the kennel there were a bunch of dogs staying with the Morris's for vacation. They were very excited to see me. Lots of barking and wet noses peering over the wall.
Now I have to apologize for not having a lot of pictures of my grooming. Since Mom was learning how to hand strip me, Dad was busy using the video camera so Mom would have something to refer to.
Caroline got to work and Mom was taking notes and Dad was video taping. Dad would never make it in Hollywood, at one point he put the camera down and forgot to stop recording so we have about 7 minutes of the coat pile and sound. Mom will just have to fast forward through that. Well after about 3 hours of plucking we took a break for lunch. I looked kind of silly actually as the the only part that still needed to be done was my head. So I had a stripped body and a scruffy head.
After lunch Caroline finished my head and here I am getting the finishing touches and inspection. Caroline said I was a very good girl during my grooming.
After we were done Mom put on my dreaded coat, since my natural coat was now all over the floor. I hate wearing a coat but it was quite nippy out.
It was getting late and it was time to drive back to Alexa and Dan's house.
On the way back Dad had to stop for a photo op. He found a street sign with our last name on it. He almost got us stuck in a ditch when he pulled over, thank goodness for 4 wheel drive.
When we got back to Alexa and Dan's I ran right in to show Lilly my new do.
She was ecstatic with delight.
Here I am with cousin Alexa getting a back scratch.
The humans decided to go out for dinner so we got good girl treaty's.
The next morning it was time to pack up the truck and head back to Long Island.
Thank you to Alexa and Dan for putting us up in their beautiful home and Thank you Lilly for being a great cousin. Maybe you can come visit us this summer.
After 4 hours of driving we went from lots of snow and cold to almost no snow and temps in the 5o's.
I had a very nice weekend although I would've rather spent 4 hours playing with Lilly than standing on a grooming table. I got to meet new cousins and see new places. It was very taxing and I finally crashed when we got home.
I want to thank Caroline for teaching my Mom how to groom me. One can only hope she took good notes and I don't wind up looking like Mr. Bigglesworth.
Bye for now your friend...
Luna-tic
