This is Onyx. She is a Chow mix that came to us a week or so back for her first grooming at Digger Dogs. She may look like a young puppy in this photo, but she's actually more around 8 years of age. As a rescue dog, the owners were unsure of how she would behave in our shop. Well, I guess after all she's been through, getting groomed was no big deal, in fact this lady seemed to really enjoy her day at the spa; away from it all. I mean, just look how happy that face is:
You'd be happy too if you'd hit the lottery like she did. Onyx has only been with her current owners since the beginning of 2012. Previously, she was living a life, (if I remember this correctly) filled with stress, and lacking love and attention. She had lived with a pack of unfriendly dogs that bothered her, picked on her, and the guess is that they beat her up a bit too. Bunch of bullies!
This is what prompted her new owners to suggest removing her from that situation and they generously offered her a new life with them.
Now - this alone is a sweet rescue story, but there is more. What the new owners didn't realize right away, was that Onyx was pregnant. They had no idea who or what the "dad" was so they didn't know what to expect. They nurtured Onyx through her pregnancy and she eventually gave birth to 6 puppies!! But Onyx was just newly rescued, not in the best of health and certainly not emotionally strong. She lost 4 of her pups pretty much right away. The two remaining puppies (black fuzz-balls) still had a battle ahead of them as their mother wasn't doing well feeding them. They had to be bottle fed.
Can you imagine rescuing one dog only to find out you have 2 more and that those two extras need to be bottle fed if they are to survive! I can't. That's a lot of work.
Well thank goodness Onyx's path brought her to such wonderful people. They did all they could and ended up saving those two pups. Now they have three chow mixes! The boys are only about 6 months old at this point, but they too came in to Digger Dog's with their mother for their very first grooming. I won't lie: as a groomer, it was a challenging day having a family of new chow mixes come into our shop for the first time. They were scared, unsure, protective, and the boys clung to their mom like glue! But as I said, Onyx seemed to be in Heaven, and seemed to enjoy a few moments alone without her sons. If Calgon sold dog shampoo, Onyx would have been a great commercial for them! We purposely groomed her first hoping her boys would watch and learn, and be a bit less frightened. She seemed to understand our tactic because she pranced around all proud and pretty when she was done!
This is what prompted her new owners to suggest removing her from that situation and they generously offered her a new life with them.
Now - this alone is a sweet rescue story, but there is more. What the new owners didn't realize right away, was that Onyx was pregnant. They had no idea who or what the "dad" was so they didn't know what to expect. They nurtured Onyx through her pregnancy and she eventually gave birth to 6 puppies!! But Onyx was just newly rescued, not in the best of health and certainly not emotionally strong. She lost 4 of her pups pretty much right away. The two remaining puppies (black fuzz-balls) still had a battle ahead of them as their mother wasn't doing well feeding them. They had to be bottle fed.
Can you imagine rescuing one dog only to find out you have 2 more and that those two extras need to be bottle fed if they are to survive! I can't. That's a lot of work.
Well thank goodness Onyx's path brought her to such wonderful people. They did all they could and ended up saving those two pups. Now they have three chow mixes! The boys are only about 6 months old at this point, but they too came in to Digger Dog's with their mother for their very first grooming. I won't lie: as a groomer, it was a challenging day having a family of new chow mixes come into our shop for the first time. They were scared, unsure, protective, and the boys clung to their mom like glue! But as I said, Onyx seemed to be in Heaven, and seemed to enjoy a few moments alone without her sons. If Calgon sold dog shampoo, Onyx would have been a great commercial for them! We purposely groomed her first hoping her boys would watch and learn, and be a bit less frightened. She seemed to understand our tactic because she pranced around all proud and pretty when she was done!
Her sons, Little Bit and Biggins, weren't so sure about this whole grooming business. And just like a couple of brothers, we had to separate them in order for them to behave. (we hear this is common at home as well - haha)
First up was Biggins who did his best to behave but couldn't help expressing just how nervous and afraid he really was (but don't tell his little brother that!). He never did sit still long enough for us to grab a snap shot of his gorgeous face, but we snuck this one before he left.
First up was Biggins who did his best to behave but couldn't help expressing just how nervous and afraid he really was (but don't tell his little brother that!). He never did sit still long enough for us to grab a snap shot of his gorgeous face, but we snuck this one before he left.
Not the best photo, but he tried to sit still for us, he really really did!!
Little Bit was like night and day. He came in our shop making the most fuss, acting the most upset, barking the most and loudest, and we honestly weren't sure if he was going to make it through the grooming. But we gave it a try and I don't want to jinx anything, but he did really darn good for his first time. Maybe having his brother out of sight, and his mom in sight helped, I don't know. But to look at this photo you'd think he was a regular!
But don't let that face fool you, he was super scared, poor guy. We were so proud of him and his brother!! And after all his fussing and barking before his grooming and bath, Little Bit was so happy to be back with his mom that he settled down for a little nap.
So that is the story of Onyx times three! Not one dog rescued, but all three. They're getting the love and attention they need and deserve with their wonderful new owners, and we are so very happy to have meet the entire family!!
As for Onyx, well that pretty lady really did hit the jackpot didn't she. These stories make our hearts sing!
As for Onyx, well that pretty lady really did hit the jackpot didn't she. These stories make our hearts sing!
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