Job title

Add dog groomer to my resume. Yesterday evening I was pulling grass out of the flower beds, and Sebastian was keeping me company. Being his usual inquisitive self, he wandered over to our neighbor's wilderness of a front yard when all of a sudden I heard him scream. He's typically a very quiet dog and usually doesn't even bark, but the only thing I can compare the noise he made to is a loud puppy scream. I called him over, and he continued to yelp the 10 seconds it took to get him to me. When he reached me, I saw that he was covered in little cockle burrs (those dry little sticker things that HURT). I tried to pick him up, but I couldn't find a single position in which to hold him that didn't cause him pain. I ran inside the house (carrying him as he continued to scream) to get scissors. I took him back outside, and after about 3 or 4 minutes, he finally calmed down enough to let me pull the burrs out. I spent over 30 minutes on the front porch, gingerly picking out the ones I could and cutting out the ones that were too tangled up in his fur. I lost count after 30. Extracting the burrs was one of the hardest jobs I think I've ever done because he would cry and look at me with his big brown eyes whenever I would get to one that hurt too much. When all was said and done, he was missing a few large chunks of fur, but at least he was free to walk around without yelping in pain.


After this incident, I stopped at Target this afternoon to purchase a dog grooming kit. The main piece looks quite similar to a man's beard trimmer. I'd never used a trimmer before, so it took a few minutes of experimenting to get it right, but now the little guy's coat is shorter and hopefully less prone to attracting painful objects of nature. My mom told me she almost cried the first time my brother got a haircut and lost his beautiful blond curls, and I have to admit that I felt a little twinge of sadness as I gave Sebastian his trim. His little black coat is starting to turn into a mature silver coat, and the trim made it more obvious today. My little guy is growing up! Don't worry; I didn't save any of the trimmed fur (I haven't gone totally crazy yet).