I know if I told you that today I groomed a 20 year old Westie you would say I was playing an April Fools Day Joke but, I really truly did groom Duncan the Westhighland Terrier today who is 20 years old. I have been grooming her for last 16 years!!! She is the energizer bunny!! She keeps on ticking!!

And on top of that, I did it at Embassey Suites in San Raphael, CA. My client has moved permanently to Lake Tahoe and drove all the way down to the Bay Area for Duncan’s grooming. Yes, my client did have other business here but, she called me weeks in advance to schedule the appointment so that I could organize my schedule to coordinate with her Bay Area visit. I brought my equipment up to the hotel room and began to work.

Duncan is quite feeble now but, still has the amazing strength to stand for short periods of time. She is completely blind and even has a benign tumor behind her left eye which she must have medicated with drops daily. Needless to say, the drops make a mess over time ( she hadn’t been groomed for 4 months) so, not only did I have to remove her body hair and style her but, I had to gently, patiently carefully clean all around her eyes which does not please her. Beneath her left eye the drops had accumulated and become quite stuck to her face. So, I first did a preliminary haircut to remove as much hair on her face and body as I could before the bath so the dryer time would be shorter. I call that the rough cut. I then bathed her in the bathtub. I brought a full size rubber mat with suction cups that covered the entire tub bottom so she would feel secure and not slip and slide. When I tried to trim around her eyes before the bath, she got quite angry with me and did not want me to go anywhere near that area but, once I slowly saturated that area with very warm water and began to massage the area very gently and slowly with shampoo she calmed down and allowed me to complete the bathing. I used a very small 4″ groomers comb to gently pull away the stuck medicine. It was really something to see that within a short period of time she surrendered and began to trust me. I have been grooming her since she was very young and in spite of her blindness she can still smell me and remember my touch and trust that I will not harm her.

Prior to bathing her, I turned up the heat in the hotel room so after her bath I allowed her to run around a little and naturally dry for about 10 minutes. I showed her the wee wee pad so she could relief herself and be more comfortable if she needed to potty and voila, success! I then put her back on the table to dry her. I used a power blower on the back half of her and then used a regular human blow dryer on a warm low setting to completely dry her shoulders and face. It took a little longer but, she enjoyed the process and let me really dry around her head and eyes. I then put her back on the floor for another 10-15 minute break. She pranced around like a puppy, no kidding. She still has that little jig in her!

After that 2ND rest period, I proceeded to complete her haircut which went amazing very well. Grooming the body was not a problem at all, I just had to work quickly but, it was the face that I knew might be a problem. I started scissoring slowly at the lower edge of her cheeks and moved my way up to the top of her head and then very proficiently scissored over eyes. She even allowed me to scissor in the corners and remove the hair that the eye medicine made so messy. There would be no way to be able to use a clipper near her head. She absolutely refused to accept that noise. Even though she is deaf, she knows the sensation of the clipper and at 20 years old wants no part of it. My skills as a master scissor artist are paramount for a dog like Duncan.

I scheduled this appointment as the last dog for the day so that I could spend extra time so that the process would not stress her anymore than necessary. Her mother had ordered room service with two hamburger sliders and after her grooming, I chopped them up in small pieces, added a little kibble and warm water on a plate and Duncan had lunch. She gobbled it up! Her mother and I looked at her with pride and amazement that she is still alive!

The fact that I have been Duncan’s groomer since she has been three is pivotal to today’s success. After a brief time of adjustment she relaxed and I do think had sense memory of me. Not only is she blind and deaf but, she also has a little dementia now so, my familiar hands and scent gave her a secure feeling that allowed me to complete a very difficult and advanced grooming.