All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet On The Western Front

2.27.2016

Chloe's stuffed "Doggy" lies frozen in time.

Here it is Saturday, and according to the calendar it's grooming day for Chloe. It's been five weeks since her last haircut which means she's most definitely due for another. If you've ever owned a cocker, you'd swear that you can actually see their fur growing right before your eyes!

In just over a month's time, Chloe's face has lost some of that cuteness as her head is now a mop top, the fur around her eyes is long enough to obstruct her vision ever so slightly, and of course her white paws are now completely tinged with brown adobe dust. And to make matters worse, Chloe accelerates her doggyness by rolling in the dead winter grass of the backyard. It's also around this time that she earns the title of "Little Miss Stinky", where only a good old-fashion bath and clipping will set things right.

Now I've been preparing Chloe by telling her that we've got a visit coming up at Aunty Lyn's shop, our code name for groomer Lyn Martin at Completely Gone to the Dogs, but she just rolls her eyes and ignores me. So when Saturday arrives and Chloe is dropped off at the groomer, our house becomes deathly quiet, a silence that I find striking as I look around the room to see her toys where she last left them, scattered about, frozen in time. "All quiet on the western front", I say, giving a nod to a nostalgic phrase, ...but I'll be glad in just a few short hours when Chloe gets home and our house is back to normal, ...filled once again with an energetic cocker spaniel!

Chloe's favorite lion with the spiky hair lays quiet among her other toys.

Even the La-Z-Boy sits lonely and silent with Chloe gone to the groomer.