This is a cat. He has a name. Someone at the clinic told me that name at one point but I find that as I lose my hearing, it's much harder for me to remember names that I don't see written down first. Odd isn't it? Introduce me to two people, one with a name tag on and one without and I'll remember the one with the name tag.Anyway, this is a cat. Right now, he lives at the clinic. I call him Red most of the time, though I occasionally call him Moe too, after Morris, the 9 Lives cat food cat. The colors are a little off on the picture but trust me, he does look a LOT like Morris.
Red here, in case you haven't guessed, is sitting on my grooming table. You see, he looked in on me the other day and noticed that I wasn't doing anything other than waiting for dogs to dry. He immediately assumed that I needed something to fill the time so he leaped up unto my table and lay down on my PDA. Red's theory is, like most cats', that if you have free time, it should be spent entertaining or petting the nearest cat.
He's really a nice guy though, but he does tend to get a bit loud when he thinks we're not paying enough attention to him. He's got a very loud meow and he's very bold. He doesn't shy away from new people and the dogs in the clinic don't seem to bother him in the slightest.
Twice now the clinic manager has tried to get me to take him home. As nice a cat as he is, I don't think the dogs would approve of sharing any more than they already do. Katya, in case I hadn't mentioned it before, now gets so jealous of our bird Sparky that when he's out and lands on my shoulder, she goes into the closet and pouts. Yes, that's right, she walks down the hall, through the bedroom and into the closet, plops down behind the hanging clothes, and sulks a bit.
And speaking of odd dog behavior, I washed my first sedated dog Monday. That was a very odd experience. This dog, a very sweet girl I'm sure, is terrified of coming to the clinic for grooming. At least, that's what the card says. I didn't get a chance to meet her before the sedation so I really can't be sure.
When I got her, she was completely stoned. She was laying on her side in the kennel and was so out of it she couldn't even stand up. Oh yeah, I've been there. Take me to the dentist and I'm SO there. Plus, I've also had surgery twice now so I can sympathize with that whole sensation of being that far out of it.
I had to carry her to the grooming room and then hold her head up with one hand while I washed her. She'd just let it droop and the water would get in her ears and stuff. Poor thing. On the plus side, she REALLY seemed interested in those lights in the ceiling. Kept staring at them, one, then the other, then the first one again, back and forth. And I will admit, she did lay pretty much perfectly still during the whole thing, including the dryer.
I kept her with me for a little while after she was done just to make sure she was doing ok. She was starting to come out of it a little and seemed to grow more and more tense as time went by. She turned out just fine though but probably felt a bit odd the rest of the day.
I have now groomed 22 dogs since starting the new job and I think I've got a pretty good handle on the clients who come in. They're MUCH less difficult than the ones from the other salon, that's for sure. Of course, it helps that I almost never see them. Even more so, they're used to not having very many options with their cut. It really seems to throw them off a bit when I ask how short they want it done or what style. Usually they just say, "uh, make him look as good as you can." This is good though. It lets me develop my skills as a groomer without the stress and drama of a large grooming salon.
I guess you could say I'm settling in nicely over there and everyone seems pleased with my work and happy to have me there.
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