Ritter

As a side note to the cold weather,....I'm happy to report that Paula had another good day in the Mobile Grooming Unit yesterday, even in spite of Mother Nature's attempted interferance. One of the highlights was her ability to groom a magnificent German Shepherd, named Ritter, that we have cared for for many years. Ritter is 14 years old now, and unfortunately, we probably won't have the honor of caring for him much longer .....but the Mobile unit seemed to be a good alternative for his devoted owner to choose as it was becoming harder and harder to get Ritter in for his monthly 'spa dates'. We missed having Marty come in and the banter that usually ensues..... but I trust that he found this a satisfactory alternative. Paula said after his bath that he (Ritter, not Marty!!) he got down and even as wobbly as he was,...... went back to the house, took his position, and sat there just as alert and regal looking as ever!!! Refreshed, and ready to do his job!!

Dang, It's Cold!!

Crapinolla!! Geez, its cold out here this morning. -6 degrees by the 'weather alert' here on my computer. A true reality check for those of us here in Nebraska where by MY standards I think we've gotten by w/ some pretty darned mild winters the last few years. Makes me sooooo very much appreciate the fact that somehow, even 20 years ago, (when everyone labeled me as totally crazy!) that I had the foresight to build an all indoor facility for the pets we were going to take care of!! Even those folks in the boarding kennel industry that heard of my plans were doubtful but now that that is even more the industry norm ...... I guess it wasn't such a bad idea after all. :)

The Closing.........

And, whew, here we are tonight,.............. the "official" last night of our "holiday" season. Its been a good one. Very little illness (on either the pets or the staff's part) Patty & crew are over there right now doing the final 'exit' routine. Oh, there will be plenty of pets left yet but we are out of the "frantic" phase and into just a nice good routine now. Lots of "catch up" to do now. We've not had any real emergencies and things have gone pretty smooth. Kudos, as always to the staff that have rallied ---worked extra shifts, worked extended shifts, worked other departments to help out and to Alisyn who made it back from China in time to even get in on some of the fun!! Folks are already looking ahead and planning for some well deserved time off. And once again, thank you to all those great customers & to Mother Nature for her help!! I can honestly say that its been 21 Christmas's and each one just gets better & better!! We'll "cruise" now for awhile until 'spring break'.

Multiples.....

One of the things I was going to blog about last week was what fun we were having w/ "multiples" of pets ......all of the same breed. Obviously, in the picture shown, we were having fun w/ dachsunds that day. On the day last week when we were noticing it........it was beagles, beagles, & beagles!!! Beagles have always been a real popular breed but have seen a big increase in popularity since Uno won the Westminster show last year. We had 16 beagles last week one night! --only to be outdone by the 37 labs we had! (that's a lot of 'labbing') That was followed by 11 Cockers & Jack Russels and 10 Golden Rtrvrs. Then we had 9 Boxers, ShiTzus, & Germ. SH Pointers. Then came 7 schnauzers, & 6 each Bichons & Shepherds. 7 Max's & 4 Zoey's..... is the best I can get on repetitive names. (Usually, there's more of that!!)