Priceless :)
17
Jun
I took the boys in to get groomed today. They were scheduled to go in last week but then Angelus got hurt so I re-scheduled for today. So I let them get extra sandy and wet at the beach yesterday and today :)
I took them to a new place for us. Normally, a friend of ours has been doing it (she does it for a living up in SF) but she can only do it on Sundays and it’s just been super-tough to schedule a Sunday afternoon for the both of us.
The place I found is close to work so I can drop them off in the morning and just run over and grab them when done. Seemed simple! They also sell my impossibly hard to find dog food, Eagle Pack. So double bonus!
I Yelped the place so that I could see what has been said about their grooming (they also offer doggie daycare.) Or, if they hadn’t been reviewed yet, I could be the first one (dork!!) hehehe…but they did have reviews. And the reviews about the services were fine, but there seemed to be a couple issues with communication about pricing, timing, etc. So when I called to ask what they charged, I asked specifically what they did for that charge. Also how long it would take. The girl I spoke to said the charge was $68.00 and that would be for a bath, blow out, brush out, nails clipped, ears cleaned, teeth checked and a “hygiene clean” if needed (the huskies would not have appreciated that!! She said it would take about 6 hours. She asked me when they were bathed/groomed last and I told her. She asked if they were up-to-date on their shots and told me that I needed to bring in their vaccination certificate. It all seemed very organized.
Now, I have paid $45-$50 per dog in the past. But that didn’t include ears or teeth plus this place was very convenient so I thought the premium was acceptable.
When I dropped them off today, I went over the check-in with the girl at the front desk and explained Storm hates being brushed so make sure they weren’t too rough or impatient with him. I asked what time I could pick them up and she said would call me but expect about 6 hours. And then I left (and boy was I sad…it was like it must be for new parents leaving their kids at daycare!)
So 6 hours later at 3:30 I called as I had not heard from them. They told me to come around 4:00-4:15pm. I showed up at 4:15 and got some dog food and went to the counter to pay. The groomer’s assistant was the one helping us at the counter. The groomer walked by with another dog and asked if we were sure they were huskies and not malamutes. I said yes, they are pure huskies. She seemed shocked and said they were so big and fluffy. She was eastern European or something with an accent that made her tone seem very clipped so not sure if that was a joke?
Then the assistant told me my total and it was almost double what I was quoted! WHAT? The groomer then interjected how she had to spend a lot of hours on them as they had very thick and matted fur and I said yes, I know that, which is why they were here. She then said well maybe if I brushed them regularly, it might not be as bad. Or if they got groomed more regularly. I told her they get groomed twice a year and huskies don’t typically ever get more than that. And that I DO brush them (Angelus more than Storm) but obviously a good bath is what gets the fur up and able to come out better.
I added it was hardly fair to to just charge me an extra $60 per dog without asking me first and that this was not how to run a business. She said well, she had to miss another appointment to spend so much time on them. I said I specifically asked the cost, what is covered and how long and was quoted $68 for a full wash, blow out and brush out in the 6 hours – which was basically how long they were there. And if they knew it was going to cost more than that, they needed to call & ask and not just assume someone can afford a double charge like that. She said well, just see them and see how nice they look. I said I had no doubt they will look nice but they looked great when they got groomed for $50 too. She said well maybe I should take them there next time. Then she added that she should have taken her other appointment instead.
To say I was shocked at how this woman was treating a customer is an understatement. Clearly this woman was not an owner and she didn’t care if I ever came back.
At this point I turned around to pay and the the assistant looked mortified. She was on the phone trying to get a hold of the manager. She did and got the extra “de-shedding” charges waived. She then kept apologizing for the groomer’s rudeness. She was obviously embarrassed. She was being very helpful and polite. I paid the original quoted fees (plus for the dogfood) and I gave her a cash tip and told her it was for her. No tip left for the groomer.
Later this evening, the manager called me. She said she had heard everything that happened today when I picked up my dogs and how the groomer had been to me. She said she wanted to apologize for everything and let me know that she was leaving a gift certificate for me to use there anytime I wanted. I told her that was very nice but unnecessary as the grooming assistant had taken the charge off and apologized. She insisted I use it and said that she really wanted to make sure I was happy with the service and to let me know that she had sat her staff down and went over this situation as it had come up before and it was not acceptable. I told her I was happy with the dogs and appreciated the call. I hung up thinking that was really a good way to handle a customer.
So folks, note to business owners and managers – customer service is key. I walked out of there this afternoon thinking I would likely not go back if I had to deal with that groomer again but now I would consider it. And the buddies do look and feel great :) The grooming assistant said Storm did howl & talk quite a bit (I did warn them) but she said quite normal and even on the “quiet-ish” side compared to other huskies! And Angelus was a perfect gentleman the entire time…what a buddy :)
Angelus all clean!
Stormy all clean!
16
Jun
So yes…I have been doing closet organization chores while watching the CMTs. But I’ve taken dance breaks for the live performances…Taylor, Sugarland with the B52s!, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith and Kellie Pickler.
Storm showed his preference…he woke up and came out from under the bed for Kellie and “danced” with me :)
I guess he knows that any boy would have had the best days of their life with his momma ;-)
Stormy wants to dance!!!
16
Jun
Watch this short video!
Beautiful lioness who was confiscated from a scumbag drug dealer who had her de-clawed and kept her in the basement (I’m sure in his grand attempt to be oh so cool and own a lion – hopefully he is someone’s playtoy in prison right now.)
She now lives happily at Big Cat Rescue: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/ Watching her makes me think of Angelus :) Chicken is her favorite food (just like Angelus!) and when she is guarding her food she looks like Angelus does when Storm comes sniffing around to see what he can steal (which he knows he cannot but the is a persistent bugger.)
I’m a HUGE animal lover. Only charities I ever donate to are animal rescue and care and I donate pretty much every month. Although I like to stick to smaller ones like this one as I believe my money is truly going to help the animals and not pay the giant salaries and admin expenses of large charities (my cynical side never quits!) And I do tend to get all weepy when reading all about the abuse animals suffer at the hands of jackass people who I would like to take out into the woods and shoot. In my opinion, if you can abuse an animal, you are simply 1 step away from doing it to a person so why should it be considered less of an offense?
Anyway – it’s a cute little video to put a smile on your face! I LOVE big cats – they are amazingly majestic. Enjoy :)
Ok, next stop on my cupcake tasting experiment!
Today is a grand experiment! I have never baked cupcakes from scratch – no boxed mix! There are no store-bought red velvet cake mixes that I know of (Sprinkles sells one I think though) so I figured go with making something I couldn’t get a mix for anyway. Especially since I won’t attempt chocolate cupcakes from scratch as Dough Boy and Betty do such a GREAT job with their nummy mixes :)
I found this recipe on www.pinchmysalt.com when I was searching for a homemade cream cheese frosting recipe. It seemed easy-ish (knock on wood…) Not toooooo many ingredients or crazy prep work.
My hand mixer is in Tahoe so I will be breaking out the Kitchen Aid countertop mixer that we got as a wedding gift. 10 years ago. And I think this might be the first time I’ve used it :) Excellent maiden voyage (after I clean the layer of dust off of it!!) :)
Here are the ingredients:
Red Velvet cupcake ingredients
You need to use room temperature eggs and buttermilk (clearly diet cupcakes…) and softened butter so plan that a little early (unlike me who had to wait a while after planning to start!) :)
Had to sift and then re-sift the flour. Between this and the cheese grating from last week, I learned to switch off hands doing it so both the left and the right are equally as sore. I wonder if boys do that too :-0
So you make the red part of red velvet using red dye (I read other ways to do this in other recipes but I like this recipe.) Oh, and..so…red DYE stains your fingers…go figure :)
Red part of recipe
Then you mix, and mix and mix some more of the various bowls of ingredients (the butter/sugar mixture, the flour mixture, the red and cocoa mixture (above) and then the the vinegar and baking soda (science class time – it fizzes!) mixture last. p.s this mixer was AWESOME. To quote Ferris Bueller “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”
Batter up!
Then you fill your cupcake pans using an ice cream scoop. At first I thought that was goofy but it works great!!
Now you bake for 20 minutes and voila! 24 naked cupcakes!
Naked cupcakes
Now I let them cool for a while (so I could get other chores in the house done!) and then frosted them with the same cream cheese frosting I tested a couple weeks ago, also from www.pinchmysalt.com:\. I used red sprinkles to decorate :)
YUM! - Done!
Storm wanted to help with the cupcakes….
Storm wants to help frost cupcakes..
His argument was that these were not chocolate! I told him we had to use cocoa so no dice..he asked why I didn’t make pupcakes then. Good question!
I just tried one…yum….
Bite!
Would I make them again JUST for me? No..I’d just drive to Sprinkles for a cupcake. But if I needed to bring cupcakes to something, it was someone’s birthday or someone wanted them – yes, they are quite tasty :)
Now I am putting 3 in tupperware for home and the rest into other tupperware to take to the office to make them fat :)
Recipes here: http://pinchmysalt.com/2009/02/04/red-velvet-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/
Got home after work and an after-work hike around 8:30pm. My huskies have been at home all day by themselves. I have come to the conclusion that I have more separation anxiety than they do as I missed them all day long and ditched an after-hike dinner to rush home and see them. Certainly more than my older dog, Angelus, who I know loves me to death but also is pretty husky-like and likes to stay a cool customer :) (Although he did run up, ears back, tail wagging with kisses when I got home :) ) The feeling of all that love coming at you when you walk in the door is pretty darn awesome :)
Angelus is, was and always will be, my guy. On his first night with us, first night away from his doggy mom and siblings, I slept on the floor with him in the kitchen (he was 7 wks old – not potty trained yet.) That first weekend we picked him up, I was sick but I stayed with him the entire time – hanging out in the yard, walking him, sleeping by him. He is my bud. But he was not prone to hugging and skooshing – I had to break him down by constant hugging :) Now he’s like ‘fiiiiinnne…..as long as no one is looking.’ Unless it’s the pre-walk/breakfast morning time – then he is a huge love bug (or if you have chicken in your hand!)
My younger guy (by 1.5 yrs) is Storm. Hoth Stormtrooper officially with the AKC :) He loves his momma. I guess it wouldn’t be far off the mark to call him a momma’s boy. He cannot let me out of his sight for very long. He follows me room to room at home if he notices I’ve been gone from where he is after a short while. And he waits for me by the door if I leave him at home. I love the fact that he loves me so much but want to make sure he still has fun and is happy even if I’m not there! But I don’t think he truly does/is…
When he was a puppy he was supposed to be my husband’s dog (in hindsight this was like allowing your kid to get a pet ;) ) He wanted a puppy who loved him as much as Angelus loved me. I told him that with pets, they respond to who cares for them the most. Since I took care of Angelus 99.9% of the time, of course he loved me more (he better!!) To be fair to husband, he did start the puppy process by caring for Storm all of the time. He fed him, walked him, took him to work. I was not allowed to carry him to bed (I carried Angelus down to bed every night until I simply could not physically – he weighed like 60lbs!), feed him, skoosh or hug him. He was husband’s puppy!
Then Stormy got hurt. He crashed into a Rottweiler at the dog park and got up limping. He shook it off but then over the next week, he started limping more and more. His knee was never the same. It would pop out (called luxating patella) and back in. So we found the best surgeon and got him his surgery. The first weekend was going to be tough as we have 2 flights of stairs in the house and Storm needed to be carried or at least helped using the doggie sling to go potty. And then hung out with to monitor, etc. He got his surgery on Thursday and we picked him up from the hospital on Friday morning. He hung out in my office with me that Friday.
On Saturday morning my husband said he was going for a “quick surf” at Ocean Beach and then would be home to help with Storm. I asked him not go. He said he “had to” – was “really good surf”. Fine….(this is girl code for’ it’s not fine but I’m not going to argue about it’ – men should really learn that.)
About an hour or hour and a half after he left I get a call…he hurt his knee surfing, had to be helped from the water and could barely walk/drive home. And stairs were going to be hard, needed to go to a doctor, etc. Nice. He wasn’t eaten by a shark so I felt justified in being more annoyed by the fact that I asked you not to go and you ignored me and now you were hurt just enough to be a pain in the a**.
Sure enough. He hobbled in. Doctor would tell him to stay off his leg. Possibly needed physical therapy, blah, blah….Of course, this also meant that he couldn’t help me with Storm. Like carry the 50lb dog up and down the stairs or in and our of my car…for the next 6 weeks or something.
So I took care of Storm from that day on. He came with me and Angelus to work now. Stayed with us in my office. I took them for walks by myself. He became my dog. I cared for him when he was hurt. He knew it. Very simple in the dog world.
I know he loves his Dad. But he can’t live without, or stand being apart from, his Mom. These guys mean the world to me. They make every day a good day. :)
You can follow their exploits on twitter: @mr_angelus and @stormdevil
Or on dogster:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/114743
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/114778
This is Storm with his cast on and a pic of Angelus & Storm together (they don’t do THAT often!)
Storm with his cast
Storm & Angelus
