Woof! I’m Fletcher and this is me in the photo below having fun in the park on Sunday. Now it was a bit wet and I got a little dirty around the edges (oops).
For most dogs that wouldn’t matter but I’m a guide dog. I help my human access all areas. So I need to look my best to guide my human in and out of shops, restaurants, hospitals, meeting rooms and more. Oh, as a slight aside and in case you were wondering, The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Royal Environmental Health Institute Scotland have confirmed that guide dogs are unlikely to be a risk to hygiene in restaurants and food shops.
And whilst I love my time in the park, the “dirty dog in a guide dog harness” look just isn’t me.
Time for grooming!
Actually regardless of what state I’m in – clean or dirty, Guide Dogs recommend that I’m groomed to a high standard every day. And my human had training in grooming just to make sure.
There are many grooming stages. And because my human has difficulty bending down, all my grooming takes place on a garden bench. Other dogs get groomed on the floor, not me.
First off, physical checks.
Yes, my eyes do shine brightly. No gunk or strange discharge today. Any normal eye mucus – some of you humans call it “sleep” – is removed. Well, that’s the theory. My human gets to use a damp chamois leather cloth to wipe the corner of my eyes; I prefer to lick the cloth (just let me at it).
Ears get sniffed.
Teeth and nose get checked. As does the other end. My fur gets a quick feel through too. Chewing gum stuck in my fur from a recent trip to London was one souvenir I could do without. Oh, and of course, my paws get checked too.
After the checks, I’m tickled all over (well, that’s what it feels like) so that any dirt and dead fur is loosened. Next I’m combed. Then brushed.
Now I’m ready for business. But there again, I’m quite happy to stay lying down for now, roll on Christmas…
Woof and paw, Fletcher.
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(c) pawsatthekerb™, December 2015.
paws at the kerb 