Never A Dull Moment

On Wednesday one of my pups got hurt while playing at the dog park. He was running with the pack when he tumbled. He got up but just sat there. I called him over to where I was standing and he started hopping on three legs. My job is like being a nanny with a higher risk of injuries. I love my clients as much as my own dogs that's why I call them all "my pups". When I saw him limping my heart just sunk in my pants. When I called his mom she told me not worry it's just Charlie, a dog who would manage to get bit by a fish on dry land. I packed up the dogs and took him to the vet. I had to leave him there while finishing up with my other dogs. After my last drop off I went back to the vet where I waited another 2 hours 'til he was done. He looked miserable (might have been the doggy valium he was on). Now, this is a dog who injured his toe while running on the beach, got lost on the tarmac while being sedated in his crate and found 3 days later near the airport, bit by a Pitbull and tor his ligaments in the knee Wednesday while playing with his friends... and all this happended in the past 6 month. The vet should give him a preferred customer card.
After dropping him of after the vet I felt kind of somber. I could never work with injured pets, it just breaks my heart. When I finally made it home after a 12 hour day I just plopped on my sofa telling myself everything will be fine, don't worry it's JUST Charlie ;-)

When You Do Good AMAZING THINGS CAN HAPPEN

I truly believe if you do something good something even better will come back your way.
Once I met this nice gentleman named Dave at the dog park. I complimented him on his beautiful dog, an outstanding and good looking German Shepherd. Dave told me a year ago he was looking for an approx. 3 year old Shepherd at the pound.
All they had was this sad looking, ultra skinny, gray haired German Shepherd. The staff told him he was about 9 to 11 years old. Feeling sorry for the "old guy" and knowing probably nobody would have adopted him, he decided to take him home. He thought the "old guy" wouldn't live much longer, why not give him a good life. Dave figured he could get a young dog after this one passed (which wasn't to far away anyway). With plenty of love and good food the "old guy" seemed to get younger every day. The gray hair slowly started to go away, a thick healthy coat was growing in and by the day he got more and more playful. Astonished by the progress he took Blacky to the vet. The vet couldn't believe his eyes. Examining his teeth and bone structure the vet came to the conclusion the "old guy", ain't so old after all. If you haven't guessed, Blacky was approximately 3 years old at the time. This is a true story! What do we learn from this? Sometimes if we want something we might not get it without a detour. In our case Dave did something good and he got an even bigger return. I thanked Dave for sharing this wonderful story, it put me in a good mood all day.
And now I am hoping I put you in a good mood as well. :-)

The Not So Glamorous Side...

Here are 10 reasons that show the not so glamorous side of dog walking. Yes, it looks easy but we are professionals , we are supposed to make it look easy, right!

1) You are already having a bad day and some idiot leaves both gates at the dog park open. Two of your pups think it's a fantastic idea to run outside and explore the neighborhood. Suddenly you find yourself chasing down two dogs on a busy street. Your heart sinks, you freak out, 10 millions thoughts are chasing through your brain and you just start running after them (praying not to get hit by a car). You finally get them into a corner, you leap and you catch them. An eternity. a heart attack, two cuts on the elbow, bruises and ripped pants later the dogs are safe and you are ready for a drink!

2) You are wearing your new shoes to the dog park, you step in poop but don't realize it 'til much later in the car while sitting in a traffic jam in the canyon, with no possibility to stop ANYWHERE.

3) One of your pups attacks a Pitbull, you try to break them apart. You trip and fall and 80 lbs of pure muscles lands on your head while you're head is hitting a rock! Splendid day! A concussion and a wrecked back later you are ready to take on the world again.

4) You get bit because someone else did something stupid and you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. The bite was accidental but it hurt!

5) One of your pups decides to chew through your backseat seat belts of your brand new car!

6) You are in a hurry, you drive to your clients house and you realize at the clients door that you left the key at home! outch!

7) One of your pups decides to bite someones butt! The butt was gianormous but this hardly justified the action.

8) Your pup rolls in skunk dung and nowhere is a hose around! Yeah, that was disgusting. Especially driving home with him!

9) Your pup vomits and pees in your car all at the same time. Needless to say we were stuck on the freeway and all the other dogs were freaking out. Did I mention the smell? :-0

Last but not least my ultimate favorite:

10) You are helping to break up a fight, none of your dogs is involved and you are getting yelled at for 10 min. how stupid you are and the F**** word 100 times and that you are getting sued. Who cares that you were JUST helping out. She let of some steam and I had my day ruined! Thanks.

Do I love my job? Absolutely! If I wouldn't love my job I wouldn't put up with the bites, bruises,aches and pains that come with it!


Souvenir from today!

Gone With The Wind

What a day! Yes, I heard on the radio that we have wind gusts up to 65 mph and I saw it on TV. I don't know why I thought it won't effect me (how oblivious can you be)! When my hiking buddy, the fabulous Miss K, and I started our daily morning hike, we noticed that no soul was out there (usually it's packed). Should have been a clue, right? Dressed in our usual hiking gear in shorts and t-shirts we started to make our way up to the ridge. Where we suddenly got pounded with wind gusts up 65 mph. Or, let me say it differently SAND gusts hit our bare skin with 65 mph. It felt like someone emptied a box of needles in front of a commercial fan.
It was brutal. The dogs seemed to have a blast, though and that's what it's all about (this is a true dog lovers diary). The sand settled down in every crack of our bodies (nose, eyelids. ears...). I used a real thick facial moisturizer in the morning. The sand attached itself in bulk to my eyebrows and made me look like Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo. Now, that's true devotion to your job. To really make this a lasting memory, one of the fabulous Miss K's pups decided to roll in skunk or coyote poop. The shit was all over her....NASTY... I was standing 10 feet away from her and ready to puke. Can you image having her in the car with you? Exactly! I can't even remember the last time I was laughing as hard as I did today. What a morning to start your day. Better than coffee.