The Family That Spays Together
This week in the kingdom of Posh Pooch, we decided to lighten things up from the doom and gloom of the last two posts. Yes, we still need to reduce plastic waste and think about not turning the planet into a stinky garbage ball, but we don't have to talk about that every time, yeesh.
Our clients have to look at our ugly mugs day in and day out here at the shop. but not many have met the rest of our family--namely the furry, four-legged members. That's about to change.
Lily, a.k.a. Lillian, Belly Girl, Hairless, Lilith Faire, Ti Ti.
The first time I met Lily she jumped up on me and tore my favorite shirt open, nips to hips. She's calmed down a touch after these few years, (and I still have that shirt in the hopes that I may one day learn to sew), but other than that not much has changed. She is still very much a crazy, intelligent, beautiful, crazy, loving princess of a dog, despite the scratches and scrapes she gives out occasionally. She is never one to turn down a good snuggle, and if you ask nicely she might show you her under bite.
Coming home wouldn't be the same without her bounding to the door to greet us, prancing and shaking her head like a show horse. She came from a shelter in Henderson, NV, (where she had been for three months and was slated to be euthanized), and is much more suited to the weather down here. She's basically hairless, though, so she has to limit her intake of our lovely southern sun to only an hour or so per day. She has yet to come to terms with this restriction.
Being an excitable kind of girl, she is prone to smile and nip at hands and such, and let me tell you from experience that she is a quick little devil. After she shakes off some energy she is a total couch potato, unless she's howling at you to get her fresh water or let her out to go to the bathroom. She's nothing if not a problem child, but we wouldn't change a thing.
Becker, a.k.a. Becks, Becky, Wonky, Fatniss Everdeen, Uzbekistan.
This fat chunk of milk chocolate came to us from a shelter in Devore where he was on the list to be put down, as well. You may have noticed the pattern in our family of being guilt tripped into adopting dogs that are more than we bargained for.
The first night we had him home he was twenty pounds lighter and still shaking off some drugs from the neutering. My mom and I were watching him sleep when we noticed a snaggletooth poking out from his lip. Our hearts sank as we then soon realized that the right side of his mouth was completely out of whack. We would later learn from the vet that it had been broken some time before, though from what we will never know.
Even through having a screwy jaw and living on the streets for who knows how long, Becky is one of the kindest, sweetest, and most obedient pups out there. He loves giving hugs, and his big, dumb mouth is usually wide open and happy. His main flaw is being a bed hog, and since he has the relative girth of a small watercraft, it can be a problem. He'll give you a high five or show you his belly if the price is right, and I'm sure you can infer what the price is from the size of his love handles.
Forrest Ranger, a.k.a. Poo, Shrimp, Buddy, Ranger Dog, Dingledorf.
Forrest is Melesssa and Dale's handsome Sheeb of eight years, and is a perfect mix of lover and goofer. If you met him at a party, he would be the guy who thought it was appropriate to bring raw eggs but would offer you as many as you wanted. How could you say no to that face?
He's been a retiree since birth, and the vet hasn't been able to find a single working bone in his body. If you ever see him sauntering his fluff-butt around Sunset Beach with his mom in tow, come give this gentleman a tip of the cap. A cuddler by trade, he'll let you know exactly what time he'd like you to pull the covers down so he can secure himself firmly under them.
Unlike the rest of his breed, he's a needy scab, (in the best way possible), and would pretty much always like to hang out in your pocket. Closed doors send him into a frenzy, as he thinks at that point you've abandoned him forever and you've found some younger, prettier pup to replace him and GOD FORREST I"M JUST BLOWING MY NOSE IN HERE STOP BARKING.
Nah, he's pretty cool though.
G.G., a.k.a. GG McGee, Tire Kitten, KitTan, Ten Kits
The brat, I mean cat, of the Austin household is G.G., named as such because Dale found her in an old tire in Garden Grove, (get it?) She was four weeks old when she left Chateau de Tire and was completely emaciated and couldn't go to the bathroom on her own due to megacolon. For the first couple months, Melesssa and Sunset had to act as G.G.'s surrogate cat moms to get her up to snuff. Years later she has her very own staircase that she presides over, collecting tolls in coin or blood from any travelers wishing to go to the rooftop patio, and runs the rest of the house with an iron paw.
Really though, she is quite pleasant and personable. She loves chin scratches and is quick with a purr. It took me years, but I finally got her comfortable enough to knead her paws on me while I was laying on the couch. If you don't know what I'm talking about then go find a cat and make it happen, it's the best. Along with every other cat in the history of forever, she is fickle with her love. Most of the scars on the top of my hands are from when she decided that she only wanted a very specific amount of pets. Keep your eye on that tortoise-shell femme fatale.
Scuttle, a.k.a. The New Guy
Alex recently rescued this handsome devil from the shelter, and he has already proven himself to be a very good boy. Actually, she got him like a week ago so we cannot in good conscious determine if he is either a good boy or not a good boy, but our data is leaning toward confirmation.
He's a Golden Retriever and Great Pyrenees mix, though we think he's got some wolf in him. This came to mind right after we watched the new episode of Game of Thrones, so take it with a grain of salt.
He's taller than Alex too, so that's pretty awesome.
Which brings us, unfortunately, to our In Memoriam section...
Sunset Skye, a.k.a. Bunner, Buns, Sunny Bunny, Pretty Girl
As many of you may know, Miss and Dale lost their Sunset girl in May of this year due to an unexpected gall bladder issue. She was up there in age, but still was just as tenacious as ever. Ornery would be one way to describe her, but if she heard you say it she'd likely blacken your eye.
The Amazon warrior known as Sunny took a grand total of zero guff from anyone, even keeping that G.G. cat in line. She was smart as a whip, probably too smart for her own good, and knew a ton of tricks, including balancing her own checkbook.
She was one of the most resilient, strongest dogs any of us have ever met, dealing with a whole host of issues throughout her long life. She was epileptic, had severe allergies, urinary tract issues, and to top it off got cancer not once, but twice. Still, she fought through it all and never lost a step. She was always the beautiful, savage, sweetheart that we all fell in love with.
Stoic and calm, sweet and devoted, she was a certified Canine Good Citizen, which requires passing a ten step test given by the AKC and is the top certification in behavior, as well as a therapy dog. She was just as comfortable chasing G.G. around the house as she was relaxing in front of the fire or cuddled up on a lap.
She was quite simply, the best. Melesssa made me say that, but regardless, it's true. She was the most chill, the prettiest, the Bunniest and Sunniest, and we all miss her every day. When dealing with loss, it doesn't get easier, it just gets more normal, and right now there's a Sunset-sized hole in our hearts that's pretty far from normal.
So that's our clan in a quick, blog-sized nutshell. The coolest cats (and dogs) we know...except for maybe all of our Posh Poochians that come in on the daily. Of course we work our bums off to make your fluffy friends beautiful...but let's face it, we really just work hard to make our pups and kits as spoiled as possible. Until next time ✌🏻