Today I had MaeRose professionally groomed - she looks like a black velvet plush toy - soft, clean, cuddly. I used to think that black dogs were boring (although I have had two - Trudi, a standard Schnauzer, and Tar Baby, a mini Schnauzer) - but their care is easier - they don't show dirt the way lighter colored dogs do. If Darby, cream-colored, runs across a dusty park, he smudges immediately - and a week after a bath he looks like he had been attacked by a dirty mop - for that first week he is stunningly handsome. Then reality sets in. I found out that a four-doodle owner scissors his dogs' coats himself - no electric clippers - just a day-long scissoring. I am thinking about trying. I love having my dogs look spiffy - but the cost of grooming is outrageous - and their fur just won't stop growing, tangling, and attracting dirt.
But, that is a lot better than having a dog which sheds. We don't have bits and pieces of fur all over the house.
I wanted a dog with a waggy tail, a nice disposition, and non-shedding - I got just what I wanted. Every now and then I drool over the labradoodle breeder websites - the puppies are so cute, and there are soooo many available nowadays - tho' still costly - I lucked out because my two are perfect specimens, and extraordinarily good looking. Plus, they are friendly. Especially Darby, who is a kisser who never met anyone he didn't like.
Our town has a large dog population - all sizes, some quite exotic - Portuguese Water Dogs, Great Pyrenees, and probably
every popular breed - plus many rescue combos. Sad to say our local dog park has been neglected for years - nothing but a dusty surface, shabby shrubbery, weeds. Another victim of the economy - whose neglect began long before the collapse.
Like many things, it will be a long time, and much harder to restore than the time it took for it to deteriorate.
I love walking here - we see lots of familiar faces, have hills to climb, almost enough sidewalks, trees to shade us.
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