The Pink Pooch Dog a Grooming Resident Pets

There is nothing more I like talking about then my Pets! I decided to dedicate today's blog to all SEVEN of my pets and a special tribute to the ones who had recently passed to Rainbow Bridge.

First up is the oldest pack member Cooper.

Cooper is a Westhighland Terrier x Fox Terrier. He is 9 years old and I rescued him when he was 2 years old when I was volunteering at other RSPCA. I was looking for a companion for my Belgium Shepherd but was looking for another large dog. After trailing over 5 dogs I came across Cooper who was this shivering, scared, skinny little dog hiding at the back of his shelter. He looked at me with his big brown eyes and I was hooked. Cooper came from a horrible background, his elderly owner was an animal hoarder and had lost control of all the animals she had (apparently over 50 dogs and cats) Cooper had no socialization skills, he did not trust people and the vets and behaviourist at the RSPCA said that he should be humanely euthanized. He was also heart worm positive. I decided I would give him a go as we both instantly connected the first time we sore each other. He had to be muzzled the first few days. I introduced him to Jessie, my shepherd and they were a match made in heaven. Jessie taught him how to enjoy life, she taught him how to enjoy affection and to really be a dog again. Once I saw that he was making progress I paid for the treatment of his heart worm. Cooper still has his issues, but he has come a long way from the scared little dog that he was before. He is primarily my dog. He does occasionally have dominance issues with other male or bigger dogs so he is usually kept separate when grooming. He is starting to age a bit and has arthritis in his toes. 

The next dog is my gorgeous little princess and my pride and joy, Lulu.

Lulu is a toy "Cavoodle" (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Poodle) she is not a rescue but simply came into my possession at 9 months old due to her owner not being able to take care of her anymore. She is now just short of 2 years old. Lulu was your usual naughty puppy, but as she has grown up she has become an amazing dog and salon mascot. Lulu is the friendliest dog you will ever meet and makes all visiting dogs feel very welcome! I hope to be able to enter her into a salon freestyle competition at GroomQuest in the near future. 

Lewis or Lewey is the newest member of my pack.

Lewis is a Cavoodle just like Lulu but is about twice her height. He is approximately 18 months old and got surrendered to me after his owner admitted that she could not care for him anymore due to her lack of understanding of the breed. Cavoodles are high energy dogs and require both mental and physical stimulation daily. Lewis was very matted so he does not have the prettiest hairstyle at the moment and he needs to gain a bit of weight. He has the similar personality of Lulu but has about 100x more energy then her. He still needs a lot of training so won't be allowed to join Cooper and Lulu in the salon until he learns his manners, oh and also gets neutered! 

You have probably seen two little kittens hanging around while your dropping off or picking up your dog/s.

The grey tabby kitten is called Penny and she is about 5 months old and the black and white kitten is called Mia and she is about 4 months old. Penny was given to me as a Christmas present. She was very shy at first and scared of the dogs and other cats but she soon warmed up to everyone. She is quite an observant little kitten and will sit on her pedestal in the salon and watch everything. I acquired Mia about 2 weeks before Penny and she was not very well looked after. She was about 4 weeks old and was not eating solids. The person I got her from said that she was a stray and was living in their shed with her brother and mum. She had already found a home for mum and brother but poor little Mia was left by herself. The original caregivers knew nothing about cats but had to get rid of them due to having dogs. Mia was infested with fleas, I had to bath her in the laundry sink to get rid of all the fleas, she must have enjoyed it because ever since she joins in on bath day every Friday with the dogs! Mia loves to think she is helping out with the grooming, and will often join the dogs on the table and comfort them. Please let me know if your dogs are not cat friendly!

My eldest cat, and my fluffy princess is Daisy. She is 6 years old and I hand raised her from 2 weeks old. 

Daisy has had no end of health problems in her short life and vets always told me not to expect her to live past 2 years old. She has FIV (feline Aids) that she got from her mother via her milk, she has also battled with feline leukemia which cost me near $2000 to get her into remission. She also has stress induced asthma and just recently she came in contact with a paralysis tick and nearly lost her life. I have put a lot of money into Daisy and I have a huge connection with her. I can't tell you why but I would trade anything in the world (except my kids of course) to protect her. Daisy is extremely well looked after, she eats a special food specially formulated for her, and she is not allowed to step foot outside (1 because she has FIV and if she gets in contact with a non vaccinated cat she can pass it on and 2 she is quite happy being inside) 

Kittie is a 5 year old Bengal x DSH. It is suspected that she received some brain trauma as a young kitten and now suffers from quite a lot of psychological problems. I bought Kittie for $500 from a breeder who said the mother cat who was the Bengal got outside and came back pregnant. I had always wanted a Bengal but they came with a huge price tag. Kittie was unusually small for a 10 week old kitten and the lady just handed her to me in a wire bird cage. I asked to see the mother cat and the other kittens as I originally wanted a boy and she became offensive and said all the other kittens had died and she couldn't find the mother cat. I was very suspicious, paid the lady the money and drove straight to the vet. The vet said that Kittie was fine, just a little on the small side and dehydrated. Kittie was never a kitten. It was so sad to see that she just didn't understand the concept of playing. She didn't really get along with my other cats Daisy and Poppy at the time either. It's been a hard journey with Kittie, she is a very anxious cat, she will pluck her fur out when she becomes stressed or if something changes in the house. She almost has split personalities, she will quite calmly walk past another cat and then 2 seconds later she will be chasing them down going for the kill. You cannot contain her, she is the only cat that I allow outside as Kittie is always happier when she is allowed to do what she wants. It is not my ideal situation, but it works. Occasionally she will come and sit on my lap for a cuddle, but most of the time she will just run away. I have since had a baby and that has really affected her to the point where she needs Valium to calm down. I have decided that it is best to find her a new home as I have another baby on the way. She would suit an elderly couple with no other cats who are able to cater for her special needs.

And last we have Puss (Puss in Boots) this is my husbands cat. He is the only male cat we have. He is a shy but sweet boy and mostly likes to cuddle up on the bed at night. He is a big boy, weighing in at a whopping 7kg but he is in no way overweight! Puss prefers to keep to himself and likes to hide out under the bed or in a cupboard during the day. I swear he doesn't like me as he always bites my toes at night time and then creeps around my husband acting all innocent. 

This is Jessie. She was a Belgium Shepherd x Kelpie. She lived a happy and healthy life until her sudden death at 13 years old towards the end of last year. Jessie had been battling with Kidney Failure for a long time and eventually lost her battle. RIP

Sophie was a Westhighland Terrier x Silky Terrier. She passed Feburay 2013 at 12 years old from a suspected heart attack. Poor old girl did not age gracefully and battled with extreme skin infections and mange all her life. She is a lot happier now with Jessie in Rainbow Bridge. RIP.