Pets At Home

As the days began to warm up, it was clear to me that Fergus and Seamus needed spring haircuts:

So I took them to the groomers and they returned, looking much thinner:

All the dogs love to go outside - but they also love to come back inside:

 And of course they love to sleep with their pal, Bugsy. Now that Rocky and Bramble have died, Bugsy is the only cat left who sleeps with the dogs:

 Daisy won't sleep with the dogs but she sure will eat with them. She likes dry dog food:

Clover has a preferred spot over o the north edge of the fenced yard:

 And sometimes she just sleeps on the grass:

 Daphne follows my every move:

 The dogs love their back yard, at least when the weather is nice. The grass there has greened up nicely, except in spots which got too much pee over the winter. But even those spots will soon be green:

 Soon the apple trees will be in bloom and the dogs will have a good view of them from their fenced yard:

 Jack likes to run in circles, and has worn paths in the grass where he likes to run:

 Clover was waiting for me on the ramp after a hike, and looked so cute that I had to take a picture of her:

Seamus Loses Volume (But Not Weight)

It had been bothering me for quite awhile that Seamus' already rather hefty body was growing wider and wider with the addition of an ever expanding coat of black wool. While I rather like his fully furred look, I knew I must give him a haircut soon. One Sunday afternoon I spread a tarp on the floor and called him over for a beauty treatment:

Seamus doesn't like getting a haircut. He enjoys getting my full attention, but not holding still for so long or being forced into strange positions. But he apparently had no bad memories from previous shearings:

I had the vacuum cleaner on stand-by as I began the clipping. Fergus watched with fascination as his big buddy was about to get a haircut:

I began on the most difficult part - his legs. I kept telling him to sit but he kept lying down. I was become increasingly irritated until I noticed that the slick tarp was making it impossible for big ol' Seamus to maintain his seated position because his front feet kept slipping forward. So I removed the tarp and braced myself for the horrible hairy mess I'd soon have to clean up on the carpet:

Luckily, Seamus is a placid and agreeable fellow. He didn't mind too much:

Being on a non-slippery surface made it more pleasant for both of us. Also, I left my expensive but useless electric clippers in their case and just used sharp scissors. That also made it easier:

When I was all done, I had a horrible mess. This is AFTER I'd cleaned up most of the hair with a leaf rake:

And here's the handsome fellow with his new coiffure. Clover looks on in admiration:

Winky (on the left) got a back-end hair trimming. This is more difficult because I must keep one hand on his neck to prevent being bitten. This leaves me only one hand with which to do the clipping. Daphne (on the right) is a Papillon and has the breed advantage of not needing haircuts. After owning Poodles, I've come to cherish the wash-n-wear coat of the Papillon breed: