Bath day at Chez Malaise

When Jack was a puppy I gave him baths in the kitchen sink until it was time for his big boy haircut, then he went to the groomer in our vet's building. The last time he was there they scraped his neck and didn't tell me. I found out after returning home from dinner to find my baby all pink from bleeding and scratching. $170 later at the emergency vet he was bandaged up and much better. I cancelled his next grooming appointment and wondered where we'd go.

A woman I worked with gave me a business card for AJ's Zoom N Groom. Amanda and Jacquie came and showed me around their mobile grooming van. Extended in the back and on top it housed a full size tub, hydraulic grooming table, heating, cooling, and maybe most importantly, lots of dog treats. I got an appointment and hoped for the best.

I worked odd hours then, and was home for Jack's second appointment. We answered the door and when he saw who it was he ran to the kitchen, got one of his stuffed animals and brought it to them. That was all I needed to see.

When I sold the house and moved in with Brett, Kirby and Jack got groomed together. When prices went up we stopped, but before long we were back on the waiting list, and shortly after that back to regular grooming. When Kirb was gone Jacquie cared enough to send a card. When Alex arrived she was happy to add him to the appointment.

It's wonderful to see people who have their own business and a great product do well. The girls run two vans now, each working alone, because all of their routes were full and they were turning away so many customers. It's so convenient to just leave a check on the counter and know she'll take care of everything. More than that, it's worth the price (which isn't cheap) knowing that she'll be good to them like they were her own, and after an hour and a half or so they're back home safe and sound.

She comes once a month, usually on a Thursday, early in the morning. Brett's in charge of AM walks, and says they pull like hell when they see the van. We go off to work as she does her thing, and come home to the clean, handsome boys you see above.

3 comments:

soodie :: said...

Such mighty handsome and regal boys you have!

Anonymous said...

A lovely story and such handsome boys!
When we got our Scotties, Punch & Judy, I resolved to clip them myself from the outset, determined to save some money. I bought a Scottie calendar for pictures to work from and proceeded to copy the pics the best I could. Our dog breeder always said, "The difference between a good haircut and bad haircut is two weeks." And so it has always been.

David said...

Hi Chris, I've got to hand it to you, I wouldn't have the guts to try to clip these two.

I don't know what kind of magic she works in there, but they love her and they always end up looking good.