Play time at the dog wash

It was time. Actually, it was far, far past time. My shoulder affliction which began earlier in the year has successfully kept Darby from seeing the inside of a bathtub for a while now, but if we waited much longer he might start to draw flies.

Not that Darby appeared altogether opposed to that option. The mere smell of the shampoo, as I the pull bottle out of the bathroom cabinet, is enough to make him run for the furthest corner of the house and cower, as if this will be the magic time that I won’t notice his 35 pounds of stinky furriness. It’s always the same thing, and neither of us enjoys it.

Not to mention that when one bathes an unwilling dog, not only do you have to clean their funky little body, afterwards you end up cleaning the entire bathroom. Maybe not you --- you may have one of those “special” dogs I’ve heard of, the ones who don’t shake shampoo and hair halfway up the walls of the bathroom. Me? I’m not that lucky.

But this time would be different. We were headed to the Self Serve Pet Spa, a dog wash located in the northwest, just behind the Promenade at 2816 Calloway Dr., where you bring your pooch and they supply everything you need for bath-time fun; the tub, shampoo, conditioner, ear cleaner, eye drops, after-bath perfume, breath spray, towels and a professional-capacity dryer. They even have those cool clip-on restraints, so once in the tub, your furry friend can’t hop back out again until you’re finished.

Darby knew as soon as his little bum hit the waist-high tub that bath time as he knew it was over. The sprayer quickly got him wet, all the way down to his skin, which can be tough to do with longer-haired breeds. Having both hands free to work made shampooing him a breeze. My usual grunts and less-than-family-friendly utterances were replaced by soothing words about how good he was being, and how lovely he was going to look. The woman in the stall next to mine and I started joking that this was not what our dogs expected when they saw the leash that morning. We began to have fun.

The combination of the posture-friendly bathtub, the surge of water from the sprayer, and having two free hands meant Darby set a new time record for finishing his bath. Rather than sigh as he shook out his fur, I could sit back and laugh, even urge him on. My clothes were protected by the plastic apron Self Serve Pet Spa provided, and I didn’t have to calculate how many more towels I was going to need to clean the walls.

As for Darby? He was…happy. At least as happy as I’ve ever seen him on the inside of a bathtub. The professional dryer worked its magic as well, getting his coat drier than I ever did at home. We skipped the perfume and breath spray, since I figure those items are more for my benefit than his, and out of the building we went, Darby’s tail flying high and my spirits considerably lifted by having a travel-worthy dog.

If you’ve never tried the Self Serve Pet Spa, give it a shot. You may never go back to your old way of bathing your dog again. I know we won’t.