I have found a new grooming salon!
Let’s all give a “HOORAY FOR WAGGIN’ TAILS!”

I scheduled an appointment because I wanted to try a new place, but they wouldn’t do my hair so I had to send my dog. ;p The other places I had taken him proved highly unsatisfactory ... oh, hell, let’s just spell it out … both of the other places SUCKED.

The Dog Collar of McLean: They are anti-dogite and discriminate against shelties.

The last time I went there, Cody wasn’t quite finished. The Dog Collar woman who grooms him is very snooty and doesn’t like shelties, so she starts a discussion of how ugly shelties are when they’re puppies, and then they grow up to look unkempt. Not sure how you’d feel about that, but I tend to be a bit defensive about my dog, and just KNOW he’s the cutest dog EVER! Soooo, yes, I took offense. I didn’t say anything, but perhaps my silence was enough of a clue. The other groomers seemed to catch on, the other customers got it ... everyone knew this was unacceptable, except the idiotic woman grooming my dog.

Even though she offended me with her stupidity, the main thing I hold against her is that she never once gave Cody a bandana when he was finished. Cody is the kind of dog who can carry off a bandana … which must be why she didn’t give him one, instead lavishly dispensing them to smug poodles, ugly Labradors, hairy Old English Sheepdogs, and even a Great Dane.

As if we hadn’t suffered enough humiliation from the continuing lack of a bandana, I actually called back to schedule Cody for a follow-up appointment when he was due to be groomed again. Unfortunately, the spiteful sheltie-hating groomer just couldn’t seem to find any room for Cody. And none of the other groomers had "appointmentability", either. I gather they have some sort of policy like "that's MY client, hand's off" that doesn't allow other groomers to work on your dog. We took the hint and departed … finding ourselves facing horrible dog groomer #2 ...

Fido Fantastic: Where you bring in a decent-looking, if a bit hairy, dog and return to find that the whacko woman who works there SCALPED your dog.

The first and last time she had my dog in her clutches, she shaved his head. I have a beautiful dog (picture pint-sized Lassie and you’ve got the idea) ... at least, he’s normally gorgeous … When this woman was finished his head looked like a schnauzer. She’d cut off all of his feathery hairs, leaving him with stubble all over his head and ears so sharp he could cut you with them.

Worst of all, she SMOKED all over him!

$50 bucks down the drain. He smelled so bad when he came home I needed to make him go outside for a few hours to air out. Unfortunately, while he was outside all of the neighbors saw him and laughed. Neighborhood kids screamed, babies burst into tears, other dogs tried to attack him. Basically he was butt-ugly and he knew it. He skulked around with his head down and wouldn’t go outside, except after dark, until his hair grew back. Luckily, he’s a fast grower of hair (like his owner)

After these experiences, perhaps you can see why I’d be a bit leery?

Unfortunately, he was getting very bedraggled and unkempt, so, I was forced to take him to a new grooming salon to see what could be done with him.

Waggin’ Tails is located above a vet hospital in Tysons, so I went in and stopped at the front desk where the receptionist was sitting. She took all of my information and I prepared to hand over my dog. Instead, she asked if I'd like to see the grooming area. Why, yes, I most certainly would! Cody and I trooped through a swinging door (think "western saloon" and you'll have the look) and headed upstairs. (Cody perked up tremendously as we left the vet smells behind, although he started to look hunted as we got close to the other smell … wet dog.)

We went through another door and entered the wild west. :)

The room was all light-colored hard wood floors and white walls. There were several more of the swinging doors, each marked with a wood-burned sign stating what it was for. Cody and I went into the "Dirty Dog Saloon” where I was instructed to tie him to a hitching post (actually, he went into a grooming crate, but I like my analogy better) and then I got to poke around a bit before I wore out my welcome.

I went back at 5:00 to pick him up and he was still being worked on by the sweet Sara, who was preparing him for the ultra-talented Hayley who was going to do his shaping clip; I sat down in the waiting room with a book, after telling Sara not to rush the process.

Shortly after this, I received a frantic summons to “come upstairs and look at the lump on Cody’s anus.”

Aren’t these the words that every woman longs to hear?

Did you know that even if your dog is a regular pooping machine, he can still be holding back? It’s true. The lump on the anus turned out to mean that Cody needed to express himself … anally. In a most powerful way.

Luckily I didn’t have to be there for that.

To finish up this long tail ... Cody came out of this experience looking beyoooootiful! He had lost tons of weight on the doggy boot camp program I’ve had him on, but he had so much hair he didn’t look like he’d lost anything. He now looks 20 pounds lighter (definitely a place I need to go … shed some hair, lose 20 pounds) and best of all ... he got a St. Patrick's Day bandana and a bow!

If I had a tail it’d be a WAGGIN' TAIL! :D