Big Boy Coat!

This afternoon I spent up to my elbows in the tedious job of petting puppies. I evaluated a bunch of prospective therapy dog teams ... and am proud to offer congratulations to 8 new St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog teams in Saskatoon and area! Wonderful job, everyone! Fantastic dogs that, I am sure, will be bringing smiles to many faces very soon.

This evening, I was again up to my elbows in puppy fluff ... this time bathing my own dogs. Yes, it is that time of year again. I've heard rumor that some cities in the South of the province have been getting snow the past day or two, so it is likely headed up this way soon. Can't complain, really. We are normally snowed in by the end of October. But, regardless of when it comes, the "before the snow flies" bath must happen. I don't like bathing the dogs when there is snow on the ground as it is usually SO cold and the boys take SO long to dry, outdoor potty breaks pose a serious risk for pup-cicles.

Neither dog is amused by baths. Gio toughs it out like a man. Where Romeo follows the "passive resistance" route ... hanging his head down so that the water runs over his face as if to say "You try to bath me? FINE, I'll just DROWN myself then!" Yeah, he's full of drama like that.

What I noticed during the bathtime, though, really shocked me. Romeo definitely has his big-boy coat now! I've noticed he's been filling out these past couple of months. As you have probably seen in recent pictures, that fur really gets flying. But I guess I never really noticed how much hair he has until it is all slicked down by water and I'm trying to part it to get the suds out from his undercoat. It's NUTS! He definitely got his dam's coat, it's HUGE! I attack it with the FURminator, Coat King, and traditional slicker ... and can't even make a dent. None of my other Shelties, past or present, have had this much coat.

In other news, thanks to everyone that offered words of sympathy for my ankle. It is getting better. I can walk *almost* normally on it. The worst part is the random and sporadic muscle twitches. They come up out of no where and hit like a jolt of lightening! HOLY FRICK! But the bruise is really sexy, currently lovely shades of maroon and pea-soup green. Yeah, I know, you're jealous. And who doesn't love the artificial club foot look due to copious amounts of tensor wrap?

And, because I greatly dislike a blog post without pictures, here are some pictures from a few days ago of the dogs eating FREE trout.

"Mmmm Trout-y goodness"

Gio does not like trout.

"I only eat this because I like to uphold the image that I am starving to death."

"I DO! I like trout! I'll have his portion, too!"

Have I mentioned that Romeo is a weirdo?