Ollie Looking His Best

~ beetleypete

Yesterday, I took Ollie to the groomer at 2 in the afternoon. She took one look at the amount of fur he was shedding and said, “I’m going to need an extra thirty minutes, so pick him up at 3:30”.

That was okay, as I had stuff to do.

The first trip was back to the Doctor’s, where my wife works. I had to hand in a ‘sample container’, and she was at the desk when I arrived. However, she needed someone else to book it in, as she is not allowed to deal with anything to do with her own family.

After that, I had to drive to the Vet in Swaffham, to collect Ollie’s regular prescription of Arthritis tablets. I went the back way, along the country lanes and through nice little villages. It made a refreshing change to avoid the busy A47 main road, even if it took 15 minutes longer.

However, it had been storming and raining since the early hours. After so long without significant rain, many roads were awash with water running straight off of the bone-dry fields. And I had to use my windscreen wipers for the first time in a very long while.

When I got to the Vet’s it was very quiet, and no customers were inside with their pets. So I jinxed the staff by saying out loud, “I have never seen it so quiet in here”. A lady told me off for saying that, then gave me the tablets. I was surprised that the price had increased since last month. In a little over a year, the 30 tablets have increased from a monthly cost of £38, to today’s price of £49.71. That’s almost £600 a year, just to try to keep our beloved dog pain-free.

He’s worth it though, of course he is.

By the time I got back to the groomer’s in Scarning, Ollie was ready, and excited to see me. He looks really good, smells fresh, and his claws are clipped as short as is sensible.

But I wonder how long it will be until he is like a smelly old rug once again.

51 thoughts on “Ollie Looking His Best”

  1. It’s great that you were able to enjoy the drive.
    Dogs probably have a different opinion on smelling good.
    Enjoy the beautiful dog. 🙂
    Best wishes, Irene

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    1. Ollie generally lasts for two-three days before starting to look a bit scruffy again. He doesn’t do much rolling, but if it is warm, he will go into the river. That undoes the good work of the groomer.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  5. Our dog is a smelly one too, they never quite ‘feel’ right when they’re just back from the groomer, until they’ve got their unique smell back, they look better though.

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  6. (1) So you were able to hand in a sample container of Ollie’s fur. Sounds a bit fur-fetched to me!
    (2) Did you check out the bone-dry fields? I hope the cemeteries replace all the dirt that was washed away, revealing the remains of the dearly departed.
    (3) I went into an Apple store and said, “I’ve never seen it so quiet in here!” But the sales lady didn’t give me a tablet. “You want it, you pay for it!”
    (4) Baldness ran in the Wiggins family. After the old man, Woody Wiggins, was cremated, the mortician turned to the son.
    Mortician: “If you want it, you can have your father’s smelly old rug.”
    Curly Cue: “Of course I want it! But not this minute. Wait till I head out the door, okay?”

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    1. His new toy made him happy, Carolyn. It is a delight to see his joy at getting a new toy. Although he already has many favourite toys, a new one always gets pride of place for the few days after he is given it. And he has never had a snail before. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. He loves the new snail. It ‘unfurls’ from snail-shape by detaching velcro, and stretches out like a snake. He was playing with it for 45 minutes, and has just dropped off to sleep. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  18. At one point I had one diabetic dog, one dog with seizures and one who became a tripod and needed remadyl. The tripod being oldest went after two years. The diabetes became uncontrollable two years after the vet said it would, the seizure dog remained expensively controlled for 7 years. The vet said it was commendable but not necessary. Unfortunately I can’t consider big old red dogs disposable. Best of luck with Ollie.

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  21. My sister gave Jackie a trim whilst she was visiting last week and she looks much better for it. It also saved me the regular £15 charge over here in Poland, or the £40 my sister charges at her grooming parlour, I’ll go with the second I feel like I have saved more 🙂

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    1. We pay £37 for Ollie, but only about 3 times a year. In the hot weather, we give him the occasional bath outside using the garden hose. If he had to have his fur trimmed, the grooming would be more expensive.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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