Basil, a Kent’s Kanines Model and absolutely darling Cavalier King Charles Spaniel past away. It actually happened last fall but, I needed some time to pass before I wrote a blog post on Diary of a Dog Groomer. She was very special to me for many reasons but, mainly for her courage and determination to live for so many years. She was 13 years old and for the last 4 years of her life she struggled with a disease called Syringromyelia. It is a genetic neurological disorder prevalent in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I had been grooming her for years prior to first symptoms of the disease. Overtime her spine began to curve and lock at the withers. Inspite of the deteriorating affects of this condition, she was always so happy to see me and bark and dance. Basil was such a love. As she got older and the curvature became more pronounced and caused her discomfort, her owner and I would work as a team to give her a haircut on my grooming table. Her “Mom” would support her with both hands as I would use my clippers and scissors to make her as beautiful and pretty as possible. As you will see in the pics below, I would even get on the carpeted floor where she felt secure to trim her ears so they would be even.

In memoriam to Basil, I asked Michael Daigian www.michaeldaigian.com, a terrific San Francisco floral designer to create a floral arrangement to honor Basil. He used the photographs showcasing Basil on kentskanines.com gallery 10 for inspiration. The arrangement was fantastic and when my client called me to say thank you we both cried. Basil was caramel, white and black with flowing gorgeous hair and the flowers chosen were a perfect representation of her beauty! I also received such a sweet note thanking me for my service to Basil over the years. The front of the card is a picture of an oil painting of Basil painted by a California artist, Nikki Solone www.nikkisolone.com. See how the flowers captured Basil’s beauty?

Basil was a dream to groom and I do miss her happy and jubilant spirit.