A Shitty Weekend

...and other maladies.

I thought maybe I posted an entry about how Piper came to be in my life but I can't find it so I guess I never did.
It's a pretty amazing story but right now I'll just say that before she came to me, she was more than likely abused or mistreated in some way.
Now, she adores me but doesn't fully trust me. She's scared of almost everyone else and even I have to be careful with how I treat her or even how loud I yell in my own home.
The smallest infraction could send her under the bed for days.

Piper's got some skin allergies. She's allergic to flea bites and other things so her skin is often dry and flaky.
I decided to make her an appointment at a doggy day spa called The Pink Poodle. They promised they would condition her skin and hair, trim her nails and the hair around her feet, clean her teeth and make her feel like a million bucks.
I figured she would hate every second of it but it would be worth it in the long run.
I got up early on Saturday to take her to The Pink Poodle in the pouring rain.
The place is just too cute. It's got a picket fence around the porch and a big sign with a (of course) pink poodle.
Inside, it's immaculate. Since I was a first time visitor, I had to fill out some information. One of the ladies took Piper who was shivering violently. I tried to soothe her but she looked frightened.
She was going to hate it, but it would be ok, I told myself.
After leaving my name and number, the receptionist told me they would call me when Piper was done.
They had a boutique where they sold all kinds of ridiculous dog and cat accessories and I'm just the sucker they target.
I asked if I could shop a little and she enthusiastically told me to take my time.

Not even a minute later, she came into the boutique area and said, "Umm, we've got a little problem."

Uh oh.

"Piper is trying to bite us and she's pooping all over the floor. She's REALLY freaked out!"

She opened the door into the groomer area and there was Piper, cowering in the corner looking terrified.
I called to her. When she heard my voice, she looked up and made a bee line for me.
I scooped her up and she shook in my arms.

"I don't think we can do this today. Maybe you could bring her back and let her get to know us a little during the week."

"Sure," I said, with no intentions of ever bringing her back.

I knew she would hate it, I didn't know it would scare the shit out of her....literally.

I felt like the world's worst dog owner. How could I have subjected her to this trauma?
As soon as I got her into the car, she seemed fine.
She curled up in the passenger seat and watched me the whole way home.
I even stopped at Shipley's donuts for a sausage kolache for her. Food seems to make a dog forget about all their troubles...for a while.
She did save me $50, a sausage kolache was the least I could do for her.

The weather sucked like it's never sucked before.
It was cold, wet, windy and just down right miserable all weekend. We were out in it on Saturday but on Sunday, I just stayed my ass in bed all day.
It's one of those days that you want to curl up with your significant other and sit in front of a roaring fire.

Too bad I don't have a fireplace....or a significant other.

Posted by De at February 20, 2006 11:36 AM | TrackBack