Phantom on Friday

 Notice anything different about me????

 Do I look a bit whiter? 

How about nicely brushed furs with no pluckables?

Yep, this lucky boy got to have the dreaded B.A.T.H. yesterday.  I am not a fan of baths at all, but Mom said I was looking pretty shabby, my toe furs were so long I was tripping on them, and my nails were curling into circles.  Well, maybe it wasn't that bad, but even I will admit I am pretty happy with how I look now.  BUT I may also have figured out a great way to avoid having to do it again for a very long time.

You know I am a pup of few words, but bear with me, this is a bit of a long story.  It all started very early Thursday morning.  The groomer requires us to get there by 7:30 a.m.  Mom wanted to be sure I was one of the first to arrive so I wouldn't have to stay there too long.  So about 7:10 a.m. I got into her new 2013 Highlander (well, she got it in January so it still has a bit of that new car smell - well, maybe it doesn't now, but I am getting ahead of myself).  Mom left me in the very kind hands of our nice groomer lady who gave me lots of pets and hugs.  She headed home for a bit and then off she went to the grandbipeds' home to an Easter egg decorating party.  

While she was there, it had started to snow but not too badly.  Right before she was ready to leave to go home, she got the call that I was ready.  She would be going right by the vet's where the groomer is so she decided to pick me up on the way.  No problem.  

As she was walking to the building, she noticed that the sidewalk was a little slippery.  Since she didn't have her boots on and since she hasn't had the best track record with slipping, falling, and breaking bones, she asked the vet tech if he would bring me to the car for her.  Yes, that beautiful new shiny black with leather seats vehicle.  No problem, John was very accommodating and brought me to the car and I got a treat from him too.

We started to head home and suddenly I became very agitated.  I am always very well-behaved in the car, but something was wrong.  Mom was on a very busy road and was having a hard time figuring out what was wrong with me.  But it wasn't long before she realized that my frantic pawing at the door and window meant only one thing.  She had forgotten to ask John to let me have a potty break before I got in the car, yes, that very new and nice car.  Do you see where this story is going?  I tried so hard to wait until we were home, but I had no control.  It just happened.  Within seconds, the new car smell changed to something very unpleasant.  I won't go into the details, but I was just mortified.  This is something I NEVER NEVER do, even in the house, no matter how sick I am.  Mom says it wasn't my fault, I just got too nervous over the whole experience and my tummy got upset.

So . . . . Mom spent the next two hours working hard to clean the car and to clean me.  I was a mess because I was so upset I was jumping all over the place in the car, and my beautiful clean furs were smeared with some ugly brown.  After a long time, she knew she had gotten the inside of the car as clean as she was going to be able to do with her limited supply of cleaning resources (not to mention her very sore back).  There was only one solution. Today the vehicle spent the day getting a B.A.T.H. too - at the detailer's.  They used some heavy duty enzyme cleaners and sucked all the stinks out of the carpet and the leather (the seats are perforated if you get what I mean).  It smells different now, pretty good actually.  Mom is just hoping they got it all out so that when our 100+ degree summer days get here, she won't have to ride around with all the windows open.

All in all, it was one very expensive B.A.T.H.

I can't believe I am even telling you this actually happened, but it just might be a way to avoid a B.A.T.H.

OK, I will let her put this one in of all of us - maybe they can have a B.A.T.H. adventure soon too:)

Woos, Phantom