Spa Day

This morning was a spa day of sorts for the girls. Willa has an appearance coming up and is looking a bit shaggy. I try to keep both dogs well groomed particularly in the heat of the summer. In Willa’s case she still has the reverse Mohawk from her time at LSU. I worked on the margins of the clip to ease the edges a bit, blending it in. I also take care of nails and that oh-so long between the toes hair that makes their feet slip on the wood floors.

It was while I was trimming Willa’s back feet and clipping her nails that I noticed something. Willa does NOT like me to mess with her paws, particularly her nails. Now, I am pretty good when it comes to nail trimming, but Willa is a squirmy bag of trembling dog flesh when nail trimming time rolls around. So I sit on the floor with the stinkiest of stinky treats and prop Willa on her back so I can control her and her foot. She resists but the treats keep her in place for the 18 snips it takes to finish the job. Then, when I finish the front ten, I pivot her 180 degrees so I can do the back 8. At this point she’s panting but not struggling anymore.

So, she’s laying on her back, mouth open, and I grab my camera and snap this…

OK, so there is a bit of Salmon jammed in there too, but what I see is fresh pink palate and a very small grey spot. Compare this to the first shot and you can see that it looks like it is healing. Add to this the fact that she is choosing to chew her hard chews on that side and I think her mouth is healing. She still has the chapped lips from the radiation treatment, but that looks better every day too.

I still have a bit more clipping to do before they are ready for “show” (and I’ll post pictures when I finish) but I wanted you all to see for yourselves. This has been a good, although very hot, day. I think we’ll be playing in the sprinklers later today…