October 27, 2008 ~ Charlie’s Makeover

Charlie was looking even more scruffy than usual lately, and we all agreed that he needed to make his quarterly pilgrimage to the doggy barber, which in his case is actually an equine center that also (oddly) grooms dogs.  I wish I had a picture to show you of how he looked before his new ‘do, but suffice it to say that he was somewhere between an Old English Sheepdog and an old well-worn pair of fuzzy slippers.  If he was going to attend any of our holiday parties this fall and winter, he was going to have to get spruced up, dab a little smelly-good behind his ears, and exchange his scruffiness for fluffiness.

His appointment (yes, Charlie actually had an appointment – it’s not that easy to get into the better salons, y’know!) was for the exact same time as when I was to be at MDAnderson for my Zoladex shot, so our son volunteered to chaufeur Charlie.  I armed him with a photo of how Charlie looked right after he was groomed last July.  See, if you don’t have a photo, you have to try to describe how you want him to look and (trust me!) it’s not that easy for them to visualize him without all the scruff.  Last time we went, we told them we wanted Charlie to get a Westie cut, and then spent the next 15 minutes listening to why they couldn’t do it because he wasn’t a Westie.  Of course we know Charlie’s not a Westie – he’s a Wheaten Terrier for heaven’s sake – it’s just that Westie’s have a better looking cut than Wheatens have, in my opinion.  I don’t care if Charlie’s authentic, I just want him to look cute!  Still, we never could get them to concede to give him a “Westie”, so we crossed our fingers and told them to do their best.  Well, Charlie came home looking pretty doggone good, if I do say so myself.  So right then and there, I took a picture of him so we would never have to have that frustrating 15-minute “Westie or no-Westie” conversation again.

The picture was taken to the groomer and left with them so they could refer to it.  (We thought we were so smart)  Three hours later they were done.  They called Donovan and he went straight away to pick him up.  If Charlie hadn’t been wearing his red embroidered collar that gives our phone number and his name, Donovan said he wouldn’t have recognized him.  Charlie had been made over.

The picture was evidently ignored.  And the Westie conversation was never had.  So they did what most stylists do eventually, whether they style people or pooches – they completely ignored the wishes of the client and did exactly what they wanted to do instead.

Charlie went in looking like man’s best friend and came out looking like more of a chi-chi poo-poo diva – um, divo.  They made him over alright – now he looks like Charlene instead of Charlie, and I could swear he knows they’ve girlied him up.  He seems a little embarrassed, if I’m reading him right.  He looks over at me with big, sad eyes as if to say, “I can’t believe you let those people do this to me.  Look away! Seriously, don’t look at me; it’s too humiliating!”

Okay, maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I’m not the only one.  Today Donovan asked me if I thought that Charlie could tell that he had been girlied-up.  He’s shaved closely all over, except for his ears which were kept long and flowing, exactly like a young woman with pigtails.  John also remarked that Charlie looks … well, not like Charlie.  It’s odd.  I really think Charlie can tell.

So, Charlie’s got a new ‘do and we feel like we’re living with a new dog.  We know it’s Charlie, though, because he still sits at his dish in the morning and demands his Honey Nut Cheerios. . . . . . . . .

. . . . hmmmm, maybe he is a diva after all.

xxoo