A little while ago, I was out walking our dog, Callie, when I bumped into a neighbor walking her dog.
Her dog looked like he had just come from a photo shoot for a dog magazine, which somehow got us talking about dog groomers.
She told me she takes her dog to a local groomer that also happens to have a dog bakery attached.
I had questions.
“A dog bakery?”
“Yep,” she said. “While our dog is getting groomed, they bake homemade treats for him. He actually loves going to the groomer.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Of course, your dog loves going to the groomer.
Who wouldn’t? Imagine this: A warm bath. A fresh haircut. Someone making you look and smell better. And then, just when you think it couldn’t get any better...
A fresh-baked blueberry scone appears.
That’s not a grooming appointment, that’s a luxury spa day with dessert.
The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if they accepted humans.
Why don’t they do this for people?
Imagine getting your haircut and your stylist says: “Your haircut is finished... and here’s a warm cinnamon roll.” Or imagine getting your oil changed and the mechanic hands you a perfectly grilled ribeye on the way out.
Suddenly, routine maintenance sounds a whole lot more appealing.
No wonder dogs are wagging their tails walking in.
The conversation reminded me of our own dog, Callie. She absolutely hates going to the groomer. If the word “bath” is whispered, she disappears faster than Bigfoot when someone pulls out a camera.
Normally our 21-year-old son is the one who takes her to the groomer, but he recently moved out with a buddie, life got busy, and let’s just say Callie’s grooming schedule slipped a little. Actually…a lot.
Florida summer heat plus a curly-haired dog equals one thing…That unmistakable “dog smell.”
You know exactly what I mean.
Two days ago my two youngest boys and I were sitting in the living room when Callie casually strolled through. She didn’t bring the smell with her, the smell arrived about three seconds later.
I looked at the boys and said, “That’s it. I’ve taken it and I can take it no longer, Callie is getting a bath…NOW.”
For a brief moment, I considered giving her the deluxe garden hose treatment right there in the front yard. Then I pictured my neighbors peeking through their windows and reporting me to the Humane Society for animal cruelty.
So I opted for plan B.
We corralled Callie into the shower. It took all three of us. One son held her. One son brushed. I became head shampoo technician.
Since we weren’t exactly stocked with premium dog shampoo, we used what we had…our luxurious island coconut shampoo and conditioner.
(If it’s good enough for us, it’s good enough for Callie.)
After what felt like an hour of scrubbing, rinsing, conditioning, brushing, towel drying, and blow drying, she finally emerged looking like a completely different dog.
She smelled amazing. Fresh as a daisy (or should I say, “Fresh as a coconut”).
When my wife got home from running errands, she immediately noticed the difference.
“Wow,” she said. “She actually looks happy.” I laughed. “Well, if you didn’t smell like a dog anymore, you’d probably be happier too.”
Then I remembered my conversation with my neighbor.
We didn’t have any gourmet blueberry dog scones fresh from the dog bakery, so Callie got something even better. A couple pieces of leftover chicken from last night’s dinner.
Judging by the speed at which they disappeared, I’m pretty certain Callie struck gold.
Later that day it dawned on me…
Callie had no idea she smelled. And the embarrassing part?
Neither did we. We had officially become nose-blind dog owners.
It must have happened so gradually that we simply got used to it.
Isn’t that exactly what happens with our health?
Very few people wake up one morning with chronic neck pain, back pain, headaches, numbness, poor posture, or stiffness.
Most of the time it creeps in little by little.
You lose a little flexibility. You don’t sleep quite as well. You start avoiding certain activities. You reach for pain relievers a little more often.
Then one day you find yourself saying, “I guess this is just part of getting older.”
It doesn’t have to be.
One of my favorite things to hear from patients after they’ve been under care for a few weeks is: “I didn’t realize how bad I felt until I started feeling better.”
I hear it all the time. “I forgot what it felt like to wake up without stiffness.”
“I didn’t realize I had been living with headaches almost every day.”
“I can finally sleep through the night again.”
It’s amazing how quickly we adjust to feeling less than our best.
Just like we got used to Callie’s smell, we can get used to living with aches, pains, and limitations that were never meant to be “normal.”
Here’s what I’ve learned after years of taking care of people:
Most people don’t notice themselves getting worse...
They notice when they can no longer do something they used to love.
The good news?
You don’t have to settle for “normal for your age.”
Sometimes all it takes is finding the cause, making a few simple changes, and giving your body the opportunity to do what it was designed to do.
Have a Terrific Thursday!
Dr. Derek ‘Dog-Spa Intern’ Taylor
