When I lived in Toronto, my canine baby was a pampered pooch.  He got groomed twice yearly and had the royal treatment.  He really was a spoiled boy.

Fast forward a few years and we're no longer living in the city. We're on an island in the middle of one of the Great Lakes and in Northern Ontario!  How on earth did we get here?!

Chance seems to love rural living though.  He gets to run around our farm and be free as a bird.  He is one very happy puppy!  Okay, he's ten years old, but he looks and acts like a pup!

The only drawback of country living is that this once well-groomed city dog is now always covered in gross things and doesn't smell great at all.  I will not mention what he's covered in, but we live on a cattle farm.  You get the picture, right?

There isn't a day that I don't thank my lucky stars for Patti McKenzie, Pampered Pet Grooming owner and dog groomer.

No word of a lie, Patti is the most amazing person ever.  She is so good with the animals and has that magic touch.  I say this because my dog won't let anyone touch his paws, and Patti is always able to get him to let her do whatever she wants and needs to do to get him groomed!

You see, when Chance was a pup, an elevator incident had his paw stuck and dewclaw bleeding. Since then, nobody has been able to touch his sensitive paw. Nobody except Patti, that is!

A few years ago, he was run over by a bus and almost died.  For three months, he was pretty much in a vegetative state. Crushed organs, a crushed pelvis, and no mobility, had our canine baby out of commission for a long time.  It was a miracle when he all of a sudden decided to get up and start running around again! He looks and acts just like a pup still.

I thought for sure that no groomer would ever be able to touch him without his protests, but Patti seems to have the magic touch.  She always sends Chance back to us looking like a brand new pup.  Coat clipped down for his "Summer look", smelling fresh (the good kind of fresh, and not the "ripe" kind), and clean!  He's always so happy when he comes back from the groomer's and he looks a lot lighter too!
If you're on Manitoulin Island, I highly recommend Pampered Pet Grooming.  For more info, check out their Facebook page!