a bone of contention
A client brought a new cow hoof among other toys for her dog. When check-out day arrived, she began to look at the cow hoof, which was only lightly used. She began to examine it like a palm reader and told us that the lack of tooth marks signified her dog had been unhappy, nervous, and “totally not herself.” Our photos of a happy dog and stories of a great stay were not believed. Not even her cheerful, wagging dog could make a dent in her opinion of a horrible experience. Why do I have a mental image of me gnawing on the cow hoof to make a few more tooth marks next time? I’ll do almost anything to make a happy customer!

People are funny when they call about boarding. We have to remember that no matter how strange the question, what they are really asking for is assurance that their pet will be well cared for. Here are some of the winning questions: Do you have roofs? Do you have heat (on a snowy January day in the low 20s!)? If your office is closed for the holiday, will anyone care for the pets? Will you feed our pet? Do you keep the cats inside? The answer to all these questions is “YES!” Then we take the opportunity to tell them how very well we do it!

Nancy S.

the watch Dog
Here comes the Jack Russell! His dad insists the dog will watch TV, and he would like me to see this. Yes, he actually wanted to go home, get his TV and stand, bring it into the salon, and make us watch his dog watch TV!

As the clients pull into the parking lot, it seems like there are always dogs at the wheel driving the car. In fact, one day a client ran into a policeman, and she said, “He gave me the biggest ticket! He blamed it on the dogs on my lap.”

Crystal F.

one tough cookie
One day I was grooming a black Cocker Spaniel named Cookie. I was prepping her for a bath, holding her up while brushing her rear leg, and I felt something very rough on her stomach. At first I just thought it was her skin, so I proceeded to look and see why it was so rough. To my surprise, there was a blue hair curler tangled in her hair! After a good laugh, I began to remove the curler from Cookie’s hair. After removing the curler, Cookie seemed quite relieved.

Beth H.

Send us your stories!

Have an embarrassing “oops” moment at your facility or a crazy client – on two or four legs? Tell us about it! Email your true tale (no more than 200 words, please!) to [email protected], and you just might see yourself in the next issue of Pet Boarding & Daycare!

Thank you to Alanna Chasin of Chasin’ Pets Pet Service in Southern California for providing the stories in this issue’s edition of Tails & Tales!

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