Hi, it’s me, Xena, the rightful owner of this blog. And no comments from the peanut gallery, Chia. There’s another reason why I get to do the poem for this week’s picture…I’m the only pup in this family who has been to Paris. See, here’s proof!
With that, let’s move on to today’ picture and poem, where I’m back in gay Paris!
Montmartre…Againby Xena the Schnauzer (Warrior Princess)
Is that a pic of my last time here? Everything new in my first year, Oh what a puppy I was back then! The joy of Montmartre had me smitten.
Again I’ll visit Sacré-Cœur But of Moulin Rouge I will stay clear. Then I’ll visit Van Gogh’s house, Moving quietly as a mouse.
So soon it’s time to fly back home, Landing in Georgia, I’ll ne’er more roam! In my pocket the picture I found, I bend my head to kiss the ground.
Now for my thankful: I’m thankful to be able to translate my poem into French!
Montmartre…encore par Xena the Schnauzer (Warrior Princess)
Est-ce une photo de ma dernière visite ici ? Tout est nouveau dans ma première année, Oh, quel chiot j’étais à l’époque ! La joie de Montmartre m’a fait craquer.
Je visiterai à nouveau le Sacré-Cœur Mais je resterai à l’écart du Moulin Rouge. Puis je visiterai la maison de Van Gogh, en me déplaçant tranquillement comme une souris.
Bientôt, il sera temps de prendre l’avion pour rentrer à la maison, J’atterris en Géorgie, je n’errerai plus jamais ! Dans ma poche, j’ai trouvé le tableau, Je penche la tête pour embrasser le sol.
Hmmm. I think it sounds better in English, don’t you?
Thanks to all my friends who come by to visit me here. Y’all are the best!!
Thanks for joining us for another episode of Grooming with Mom. I’m here to tell you about a new groom, a pup who is moving, and a senior citizen who will soon cross the rainbow bridge. Let’s start off with the Happy News.
Marr
One of our current clients got a new four-month-old puppy. Brinkley, shown below, is still figuring out how this whole not-the-only-dog-anymore thing is going to work.
While Brinley was home waiting to see if Marr was coming back, Marr was here getting his first haircut. Here he is at his home before he was groomed.
Marr is a Multipoo. He came to us with a lot of fleas hidden down under all that soft, fluffy hair, and a lot of hair and crusty dirt in both ears. Per his Dad’s instructions, Groomer Mom did not trim his crazy ears or his tail. She used the choppers (a funny kind of scissors) to remove a lot of that hair and trimmed his face. He came out looking like this.
Yep, crazy ears. And a little bit of hair still sticking up under his eyes, cause Groomer Mom said it was more important for him to keep his eyes than for her to get all the hair, BOL! Except for that, for a puppy, he was very calm and good on the table. We look forward to seeing both Marr and Brinkley back in the months to come.
Dora
Next to come visit was Dora. She and her schnauzer sister Maggie have been coming to get groomed since May of 2013. Maggie crossed the Bridge a year ago last April.
When Dora showed up last Saturday, her Mom said, “I’ve got to talk to you first.” She had been trying to get up the nerve to take Dora to the vet one last time. Her husband suggested that she go ahead with the grooming appointment and talk to Groomer Mom about it. She explained that Dora was blind and deaf, was incontinent, and ever since losing her sister Maggie, has had absolutely nothing to do with either of her pawrents.
Dora (L) and Maggie 2018
Looking down at Dora in her lap where Groomer Mom had set her, Dora’s Mom said this was the first time Dora was even sitting with her. With a heavy heart, Groomer Mom tried to give her the affirmation she needed to put this 17-year-old shih tzu at peace. Groomer Mom said there was no sense putting Dora through the stress of a groom, so with Dora in her Mom’s lap, she only clipped the hair covering Dora’s eyes so her Mom could see her better. Tuesday, Dora will be reunited with her sister Maggie on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. Our hearts are heavy.
Markel
Sunday, Markel aka Baby Dog, came to get groomed. As his Mom held him in the nail sling, she told Groomer Mom that she had accepted a job about 2 hours from here and would be leaving in 2 weeks. She said she felt like she had only just found Groomer Mom (read about it here) and didn’t know what she was going to do for a groomer there. She had previously experience terrible haircuts for her boy.
Baby Dog ‘s first groom here in June of 2022. Letting hair on top of nose grow out where previous groomer had shaved it.
Groomer Mom scissored his legs quite a bit shorter and also his beard some shorter to help it last a bit longer if needed. She told his Mom that if she was back in town with him and he needed a groom, just give her a call. We’re going to miss Baby Dog.
Groomer Mom has been grooming dogs from her home since 1993, taking a 10 year break (except for grooming her own schnauzer, Lexi) after she moved. She resumed grooming in 2013 with Maggie and Dora as her first clients. It feels like an end of an era. And perhaps, with the new puppies showing up, it is the beginning of a new era!
This is Lucy signing off on Awww Monday, with thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting it.
Xena: Our friend Gracie came back to stay with us while her folks took a vacation in Puerto Rico, where they’re visiting their family and friends and eating all the delicious foods there that they have missed. Gracy used to come visit when Angel Lexi was here, and they got along good. After Angel Lexi became an angel, Gracie stayed here at the house with Mommy and Daddy so they weren’t so lonely here with no dog. She even went to In Dee Anna with them over Christmas and even got to sit on Santa’s lap while her folks went to Germany . She also was Mommy’s work-dog for the couple of weeks she was here, and has been to Rock City with my folks.
Fast forward a whole bunch of years… It was kind of a slow start to us all getting used to each other. Gracie was here a month or so ago, and we all got along then. This time, after a couple of days, Gracy was one of the pack. She’s the same size as me and Chia, and she won’t back down to us or to Riley, either. She just stands there and stares right back at us. You’ve got to respect that.
Chia: At first I tried to intimidate Gracie, so that, you know, she recognized me as being in charge. Like Xena said, it didn’t work. Early Saturday morning Mom took me and Gracy for a walk in the neighborhood.
We walked together and read pee mail and explored a little bit. She can walk almost as fast as me! Now we kinda hang out, following the folks through the house, and even sleep together in the big bed! I like this chick!
Xena: After their walk I watched Mom groom Gracy. We had a big day Saturday, what with the grooming and our brother Adam here all weekend for his birthday, and our other Brother Andrew coming over and me and Chia playing ball and stuff.
Gracie wanted me to do something with her, but I was worn out and settled into my kennel for a pre-bedtime nap.
We’re going to miss Gracie when her family comes for her this Wednesday. Last night we voted and…
Lucy: Xena we didn’t vo…
Xena: Everyone but Lucy voted and we agreed that Gracie can come back and stay with us anytime she wants.
Thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!
Do you remember back in March when Mommy took me to visit my Grammy Toni? It was the first time I’ve seen her since Mommy adopted me from her. This picture is from that visit, which you can read about here if you want.
That’s me in Mommy’s lap and Grammy’s schnauzers on the floor. We just found out this week that my Grammy Toni died two months ago. The fellas who were there visiting at the same time with their schnauzers kept trying to get ahold of her, but with no luck. They kept texting Mommy, but they had already done everything she thought of. Finally, they got ahold of Grammy’s sister who lives in Florida, and she told them the bad news. They were so upset that they didn’t think to ask what happened to her four schnauzers afterward. We sure do hope they got really good homes.
So it’s been kind of a sad week around here. I lost my Grammy Toni. Hashalóm/ole(ha)shólem. May she rest in peace.
The day Mommy adopted me, and I said goodbye to my Grammy who had raised me for 15 weeks. I’m the one with the colorful halter.
Xena: I have the honor of creating a poem to go with the picture this week. But instead of inserting me into the picture, I asked Mommy to insert a picture of Riley. You’ll see why in a moment. First, though, thanks to Brian for hosting Brian’s Thankful Thursday! And I am thankful to Angel Sammy for the fun picture this week, too. First, here’s the picture, and my most excellent poem follows it.
Murder! by Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess You murdered my doggy, the l’il pup screamed. He’s dead and not moving…or so it seemed. I named him Dooley and now he is dead. Who did this while I slept in my bed? Then a voice came to me; here’s what it said:
“You’d better get used to toys being destroyed. He often does this when he gets annoyed. I won’t give a name, but he’s big and he’s red. Don’t expect him to stop ’til your toys are all dead.
Oh dog! I cried, as I grabbed my Dooley He squeaked! He lives! I’ll hide him well, truly! The big red dog I don’t want to annoy. Lest he think that I, a small pup am his toy!
Xena: Now you know why it’s Riley in the picture. He used to deadie all my stuffies when we were both younger. He has still been known to deadie Chia’s stuffies.
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess, who is thankful that Riley hasn’t deadied me.
Riley and Lucy: We’re both thankful that Xena didn’t run out onto the road and get hurt or worse. Xena: I’m thankful I got to go to work with Mommy again. Why these thankfuls? Keep reading for the story behind them.
Riley: Psst, Lucy. Watch this.
*Shouting* Hey, Xena, you gotta come out and see this! There’s a family of chipmunks running all around the mailbox.
Xena: Where? I don’t see any chippies.
Riley: Maybe you need glasses. Or maybe you’re just not close enough!
Lucy: *whispering* Riley, that was mean. She’s actually going to check it out.
Riley: Bwahahahahaha! She fell for it.
87 seconds later
Wait, where’d she go?
Lucy: I think I saw her cutting across the yard, running toward the woods chasing something. It’s hard to tell on this hill. Riley: Cr*p. Now we’re in trouble. Lucy: Not as much as if she’d gone out on the road! Oh wait, she’s back.
Mommy sure was mad, but I don’t understand why she was mad at Riley and Lucy and not me. Oh well. Lucy got grounded so I got to come to work with Mommy! Maybe I should chase chippies into the woods more often…
Thanks so much to The Cat on My Head for hosting Sunday Selfies. Once again I’m on “my” table to do a Sunday selfie. Watcha mean, Lucy? Smile? I am smiling. And saying, “Cheese” just makes me drool.
Well, that’s done. Hey, wait, someone moved the chair I used to get up here. I wonder how I’m gonna get down…guess I’ll wait for Mommy.
Still waiting…
No need to miss naptime. *yawn*
Hoping everyone has a good Sunday and a good, food-filled week.
Xena here. Mommy often opens the porch door and lets me run around the rest of our back and side yard. She knows I won’t leave the yard, and always stays outside to be sure I’m safe. I love rooting around in any holes I find, and following scents. I especially like the area around the shed and the area along the far side of the driveway and the area where the cactus garden is. So, for Nature Friday, with Rosy and Sunny of The LLB Life hosting, I wanted y’all to see this pretty cactus flower.
Me and Mommy think it’s very unusual. Although I guess if you live where there’s lots of cactus, you don’t think it’s more unusual than we think tulips and daffodils are. (We don’t think they are unusual..just wanted to be clear about that.) So I’m gonna wrap up with a picture of the cactus and me! Well, and some yucca plants and other things we don’t know what they are.
Xena: This is not me, just in case you were wondering. We’ve shown you a lot of schnauzers lately, so I want to be sure you’re not confused about that.
What have I been up to lately, you are probably wondering. Well, there’s always something, right?
My Daddy’s gone to somewhere else (not here) in Tennessee to pig sit Morty so that my Auntie Jen and Uncle Bill can take a few days of vacation. Lucy’s BFF Ella and boyfriend Achilles had to go to a boarding place so no pig/dog fights happened.. From there Daddy’s going on up to Fort Wayne to visit his almost 93 year old Mommy and also his sisters and cousins. The rest of us stayed here. That meant I had to find some things to do to keep busy, right?
The weather was pretty so I spent some time outside critter hunting. I can smell something down there, and I’m gonna find it!
I ran down the hill between our house and our neighbor man’s house, following a scent trail. Did you know that us schnauzers are hunters and scent dogs? OK, so technically, we’re ratters, but you gotta hunt to find the rat, right? I found the critter’s hole and then another one down by the road. But Mommy made me come back up the driveway. I had gotten my schnout (that’s a schnauzer snout) as far as I could in the hole, and that critter was lucky I didn’t have time to dig it out! I can spend hours doing this kind of thing – unless it’s near supper time, of course.
Thursday I finally got to go to work again with Mommy! I did real good. A ladies group was there, and they loved me. I remembered I’m not supposed to jump up on people so, instead, I stood on my hind legs in front of them and waved at them with both my front paws. They loved it! I got lots of petting and oohs and ahhs. (And I got treats for it, too!) Some even said that now they wanted to get a little dog, too. See, I’m an inspiration!
I got pretty worn out, but I only got a few zzzz’s in before I had to go greet more people. Jen Jen bear was there to help me. A few people did ask where Lucy was, but I’m sure they’ll forget about her soon enough.
Finally, I decided to rearrange the furniture.
I dragged my nice red doggie bed out of the bedroom into the living room, and placed it near Riley’s bed. That’s right in front of the front door. Together we can guard the house against intruders. Later, Mommy put it back in the bedroom and told me to come on in and sleep with her, so I did. I usually do what Mommy says.
Just a couple more days before I see my Daddy again. It sure does feel like a long time since he was home. In the meantime, I’ll be thinking of what else I can do with Daddy gone.
Lucy: We were all outside on the porch, enjoying a beautiful day.
I’ve heard both Mom and Dad say, “They only learn the bad things from each other.” Being the youngest, Chia has a habit of getting on things like tables and kitchen counters. Lately, Xena has been immulating her.
Xena: It was easy getting up here. I can tell this is where Daddy eats. I can still smell his food. He’s a messy eater.
I can see everything that’s goin’ on in the woods from up here. No wonder Chia likes to do this.
5 minutes later
How am I going to get down? Mom! Where’s Mommy? I need to do my selfie!
Oh well, it’s not supper time yet. *yawn* Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Thanks so much to The Cat on My Head for hosting Sunday Selfies. I guess my selfie this week is of my bee hind, BOL! XOX Xena
Lucy, Ace Reporter and Church Dog here to report on something that happened immediately following a groom.
Markel, aka Baby Dog, has been coming to us for almost a year now. This is Markel.
After his last groom about a week ago Groomer Mom carried him out to his Mom’s car. His Mom set him in the seat in his car and closed the door. She and Groomer Mom were looking at the calendar to schedule the next groom when they heard a “click.” Yep, our talented Markel had locked himself in. His Mom’s purse, keys and phone were all in the car with Markel. (I was hoping her didn’t start the car and drive himself home, leaving his Mom here!)
Markel’s Mom said the button to open the door was at the end of the door near the front window, much further down the car door than the first “lock” button Markel had hit that locked him in, and there was almost no chance he would hit it. Knowing Markel is a schnauzer, Groomer Mom knew he is food-driven. She went back in the grooming room and got the jar of dried liver from which he had treats during his groom. His Mom had borrowed Groomer Mom’s phone and was on a call with a locksmith while Groomer Mom shook the jar of treats near the front of the side window and prayed. Prayed hard. Markel kept edging closer and closer to the edge of the door near the front, and all of a sudden there was another “click.”
Before anything could reverse, Groomer Mom grabbed the door handle and opened it. His Mom stood there with her mouth hanging open while Groomer Mom was saying, “Praise God!” and “Good boy, Markel!” and giving him lots of treats. His Mom cancelled the locksmith.
Lucy, Ace Reporter, with a successful post-groom report! (And Lucy, Church Dog, saying “Praise God!”)
A big thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday Blog Hop!
Lucy: Mom never met her Uncle Paul. He lost his life in England for our country shortly before the end of WWII. Mom asked us to be quiet for a moment to honor all who have served our country and who have given their lives for this great nation. That was asking a lot of 4 dogs, especially a schnauzer, but we agreed it was a small price to pay. Mom also explained that this was one of the reasons I have the freedom to be a church dog. *silence*
Lucy: I’m so thankful for the sunshine and a yard to lay in it. I’m told my furs glow, and that’s why my official Hebrew name is Ora when I got Barkmitzvahed.
Riley: I’m thankful for the great food I get. I never was much interested in eating, but now I’m right there with the peanut gallery telling Mom Amy it’s supper time…even when it isn’t!
Chia: I’m thankful that once in a while I get to slip out and run like The Flash through the neighborhood. I run and run and run and run and then I come home. Mom says that’s not a good thankful, but hey, I’m just bein’ honest here.
Xena: I’m really thankful that Mommy has let me host our thankful Thursdays as well as create the poetry all of May. And I’ve gotten to do all the posts all week! I think she feels guilty replacing me with Lucy as the church dog. First a big thanks to Brian for hosting Brian’s Thankful Thursday! And I am thankful to Angel Sammy for the fun picture this week, too. Here’s the picture and my poem.
I Came for the Ball by Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
I came for the ball But there’s no ball at all. Nothing that bounces Or even announces That no balls are here I really do fear.
A dance is a ball? Oh, no, not for all! I have no dance partner To Freestyle real proper He can’t be too tall Cause I am so small.
But if there’s no ball And I can’t dance at all I’m goin’ home!
Monday, a week ago Xena: It’s time to go, Mommy. I’ve got JenJen Bear, we’re at the door, and we’re ready to go home and get our supper.
Yes, it’s time to go, and you may want to say goodbye to the church for a while. Over the weekend you showed me you didn’t want to work at doing Freestyle, so we’re not going to Cleveland, Ohio to try to get your Title 4. Now you left turds for the Building and Grounds guy to find…who, by the way, wasn’t too fond of you to begin with. Then you growled and barked at people as they came in. When you figured out you weren’t getting any treats for doing that, you started running up to them, wiggling and wagging your tail just long enough for you to turn around and run back to me to get a treat. I’m not sure this “church dog” thing is working out so well for you.
Last week: Tuesday and Thursday Lucy: Is Pastor coming today? I love pastor, he’s so nice and he wants to get me a new bed for me to lay in his office when he’s here. I wonder if he’ll pet me a lot. He always tells everyone who comes in that I’m a good dog. This time when he kisses me on the nose, I’ll kiss him back. Are the church ladies coming today? They all ask to pet me, and it makes me so happy I wiggle and smile at them.
Yes, Lucy. Pastor is going to visit shut-ins, but he said since you are here, he will come by the church first to see you.
Note: No dogs on Wednesday simply because of how many folks come in for meetings that day. The church is closed on Fridays. So, Lucy now has every available opening for a “church dog.”
Xena: Mommy, if I’m a good girl, can I come back to work?
We’ll see.
A big thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday Blog Hop!
I'm Dalton, a Rat terrier mix and I came here in Sept, 2017, I was rescued from Hurricane Harvey. My birthday is 8-20-2016. My Gotcha Day is 8-27-2017. And I am Benji, a terrier mix of unknown origin. MY Birthday is June 6, 2018, and my Gotcha Day is Dec 28, 2018. I also was a rescue from a different part of Texas. We also have Angel MrJackFreckles, (2-5-2018); and also we have Angel Minko, (6-18-2017); and Angel Pipo, (11-3-2020);There are also Angels Groucho, Simba, Suki, & Toki. We meezers used to be known as WeBeesSiameezers. We'e all from Michigan, Dalton and Benji both came here from Texas, as rescues..
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia 