We spend a couple hours a day at our dog park. Last Tuesday was a lovely spring day and we enjoyed our hike together like always. As we rounded the last bend before heading home Dublin drops to the ground and rolls, rolls, rolls in all his dog glory. Usually he rolls on a dead bug or bird, so I yelled get outta there! He runs back to me and the smell hit me before he got to me. He rolled in dog poop! Loose, messy poop. It was all over his eyes and all down his new leather collar and well basically all over him. He looked mortified. I am ready to faint and started asking people for a valium before I can even consider my options to get him home. Here is the run-down....
1. I do not have my car with me today. It is having it's 20,000 mile maintenance at the dealer and they were nice enough to let me have a loaner car for the day.
2. I did put down a thick quilt just in case of muddy paws.
3. I do not have my napkins or wipes which are in MY car not this one.
4. The river runs along side of the dog park but just went through last summer major thorium clean up and no way in hell do I trust them to have cleaned it right after three attempts. No toxic bath in the river for my toxic dog.
The smell, the smell, dear God the smell. Okay so this lovely lady who had a toy something or other brings me a pack of baby wipes. That was so kind but seriously this big dog is covered from head to toe and I would need a case of them! Not a few. But it worked to clean my hands up so I didn't contaminate the steering wheel of the loaner car. I wanted to cry. I felt overwhelmed and just didn't have options. We always bath Dub ourselves. Too cheap to spend what they want for a bath at the groomers. Husband and I together have to do this. Takes two people since Dub hates water. Husband started new job the other day and works till late tonight. That option is out. As if I wanted that amount of poop in my bathtub anyway. Only if we were selling tomorrow! Sorry my long saga is a break from the usually Saturday routines though.
So I waited half an hour till he was hard and dry. Hard stiff and dry. Caked with poopers that looked like a horse left them. I rolled down all windows, screw the hair and figured it would keep the smell down to a minimum for the dealer. Called Petsmart grooming. I never use them but after years of knowing them well, they agreed to take Dub immediately. Everyone at the store knows him and the look on their faces as I walked in was priceless. EEEEWWWW what happened. The smell told the tale, I didn't say a word. Funny no one rushed to pet him today! They knew he was phobic about bathing and Barb the wonderful grooming manager took on the task herself and allowed me to come in back to make him feel safe. She worked like a dog on him! He complained but seriously I think he rather liked all the attention he got. She hand blew him dry to not stress him out in the drying crate and he looked better than he ever looked or smelled before. Ears, nails etc. Tied on a cute bandana and just a wisp of boy cologne and he was strutting his bad self thru the store, smiling! I was in heaven how silky he felt.
Okay now....we are wrapping it up shortly. Next day, time for our usual dog park run. I am nervous of course but with all the rain overnight surely that pile must be washed away. Cough Cough.....we get into the park, unleach him......and he beelines right up the path to the exact same spot. I am running behind him yelling "Dub leave it...leave it". Leave it does not apply in his mind to ugly disgusting things. And sure enough he finds it and drops and rolls in it AGAIN! This time I have my own car. This time I was running and got him after one half roll. This time only the leather collar and his neck got it. So I had a lady I never saw before hold him on his leach while I cleaned up the mess. Even ripping out the grass under the pile so that he might never do this again in this spot. We did a neck bath at home and salvaged the best we could that new...well not new leather collar. He doesn't smell pretty anymore. We made it through a few days without troubles until today when a puppy who is having major poop eating problems starts feasting. Dublin is watching him and decides to try a taste. So now he has discovered not only poop rolling but poop feasting and I am ready for a nice long vacation. If you made it to the end of my story I hope it made you chuckle at least once. I would laugh with you if I wasn't so disgusted!!!