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The Indefinite Article.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

It isn't easy being a doggie


Dog Wash
Originally uploaded by Amber & Adolph.
Amber and I washed Chloe at the self-serve dog wash (Dirty Dog self serve dog wash) around the corner this afternoon. I think the concept is neat, but Amber says it is easier and cheaper for us to just wash her in the bathtub. Amber is the expert among us on the topic of dog washing and my role in the effort mostly consisted of taking pictures and keeping Chloe from jumping out and hanging herself on the retaining leash. I'm mildly fascinated by the things that go into animal care. There were waist-high gates throughout the place, presumably to keep a dog on the loose from getting to far. There was a set of stairs on rollers for a dog to walk up into the wash, probably a must for really heavy dogs. The place was really well thought out and set up for the purpose of getting your doggie clean.

posted by Adolph at 6:36 PM

6 Comments:

  • Oh. My. God. You paid $11 to wash your own dog? I mean, I have known and enjoyed Chloe for many years, but Amber's right, that was a waste of money.

    You Austin-ites. Austin-ers. Austin-onions. You're silly people.

    By Blogger The Bat, at 8:46 PM  

  • i'm going to have to agree with this sara person (friend of amber's?) about what a waste of money that is. it seems that living in 'austin' has gone to your head. come back down to the muddy midew-y earth of houston, you two. i'll welcome you with open arms. promise. and i'll forget all about your silly dog fetish.

    By Blogger Killy, at 11:14 PM  

  • Killy, you've got to be kinder to our distinguished blog-guests. Referring to another commenter as ". . . [T]his sara person . . ." is not going to win us blog-hospitality awards. We could close chairjockey.com off from the outside world, but I think one of the concepts is to share what we are doing with one another and the outside world can check in on whats going on too. Here's the etiquette: blog-guests can say whatever (like the truly hurtful "Austin-onions" (Oh that stings!)) and we have to be polite and welcoming.

    The best part about the dog wash is that the total cost was like $18 bucks because Amber had them clip her toenails ($6). I put it on my credit card and the signature receipt had a tip line. I'm totally confused by this because I'm not sure what the tip percentage is for "self serve dog wash." I put down four bucks because this is just over 20 percent. After I paid, I went over to watch the dog nail clipper and I see Amber pulling out a five. I start to say something but stop thinking this is impolite (yeah, I'm all about manners all of a sudden...). Am I supposed to say, "hey Amber, don't give her any cash, I gave at the front desk?" Amber is fixing to give her a five, but I only tipped four, am I being cheap to the nail clipper because I only tipped four? So I don't say anything and we head out. As I'm putting the car into reverse, the person who did the nail clipping rushes out and is like "hey, you tipped us twice!" I forget what we said, but the gist of it was "keep it," so the total cost of this self-serve dog wash was like $27.

    By Blogger Adolph, at 9:17 AM  

  • Adolph,

    It may have been more appropriate to tell Killy that he has met me more than a few times before and that I am one of Amber's closest friends and that he has played Risk with my skinny, bespectacled boyfriend and that I taught his wife how to knit (I mean, I think I did, maybe she'd tried it before because she picked it up really quickly).

    I've been reading this blog since Amber mentioned it to me not long after you started dating.

    Now, back to this business of paying $27 to wash your own dog. I am at a loss for words. Truly. The dogs I had as a child were pretty self-sufficient and if they got to be a little funky, we hosed them down in the backyard with your regular old garden hose.

    I don't know if Chloe would roll with that.

    Austin-tastic!

    By Blogger The Bat, at 9:56 AM  

  • HERE IS THE DEAL.
    1. I go to Dirty-Dog Dogwash.
    2. I dont go to give Bodi a wash only,
    I go about once every month and a half to shave Bodi using their pro-clippers
    and then to do a post shave wash. In all total about 24 dollars. 24 dollars vs. the 47 I would spend to have a groomer do it for me.
    3. THE TIP LINE is for people who bring in their pet and have the groomers on staff do the deed.
    Even though do most of the work I leave a couple of dollars because they sweep up Bodi's hair. Adolph you should have only tipped for the nail trim, which would have amounted to 1 dollar. Amy was trying to give you your money back because not only did she realize that you were confused about how they operate, but that tipping that amount negates the purpose of their business, making it cheaper for you to clean your dog yourself. If people leave feeling like they spent all the money and did all the work they would never come back.
    4. I give Bodi a bath every week and a half to two weeks. This is not good for my back or knees. It also creates a big mess. Hair in the tub that clogs the drain and then having a wet dog run amock like a naked two year old around the apartment. Having a waist high deep rubber lined tub with high pressure hose to wash your dog thoroughly every once in a while is worth 11 dollars.
    5. Killy, nevermind you just dont get it.

    By Blogger taggart, at 10:23 AM  

  • taggart: clearly i don't get it.

    i managed to figure out who sara was on my own by visiting her profile and then her blog, and then to a photo set of her and brian (who was stung by a bee) on a trip to austin.

    seeing sara and brian again made me want to go the health science museum...

    in addition, i didn't mean to be insulting as a matter of fact, i was simply factual: she IS sara, she IS a person, and she IS a friend of amber's; although, admittedly, one that i didn't remember offhand.

    for that, i'm sorry sara. i forget that i am hanging around with regular readers of the NYT 'ethicist' column and have to choose my words extra carefully...

    like this one: austin-licious!

    By Blogger Killy, at 2:11 PM  

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