Bathtime for Bonzo

When we were house hunting this time last year, I usually inspected the master bath first of any house we went to see. Sure, I want counter space for all my beloved products I require each morning. I am a girl, after all. But, I really wanted to check out the bathtub. To me, there's nothing better than running a hot bubble bath, settling in with a good book and closing out the world.

So when we fell in love with the house we bought, it might be shocking that it didn't have a great master bathroom. In fact, it's rather Brady Bunch with its shower/tub combo. Certainly not long enough for my 5'9" frame to comfortably relax in even if I wanted to. What sold me on this house, among other things, was the hot tub out on the back deck. I frequently wait until it gets dark, sneak outside, slip off my robe, hope the 11-year-old neighbor boy isn't watching out of his bedroom window, and spend the next 45 minutes catching up on my reading. Kev says I should be more worried about the 75-year-old next door neighbor spying on me, but I figure if he's going to stay up past his bedtime to hope I get in the hot tub that night, then he deserves a peek.

We finally got around to giving Roxy her first bath last night. Between her enormous spay incision and my laziness, it just hadn't happened yet. Now, I'm always a little embarrassed to tell people that I bath Seka about three to four times a year. She just doesn't get dirty and she isn't smelly, but most non-greyhound people won't believe that. The main reason for giving her a bath that often is so that she stays used to it. Even then she goes to our bedroom, jumps on our bed and hides her head under the blankets hoping we can't find a 65 lb black dog in the middle of a light green comforter. I guess dogs are colorblind.

Now I've heard stories of how some greyhounds collapse while being bathed. That the warm water relaxes their muscles so much that their legs just give out on them. I knew this, but never really gave it much thought until at the end of her bath Roxy seemed to pass out in the water. No matter how hard Kev and I tried to get her to stand up, her muscles just wouldn't work. So we got her out of the water, wrapped her up, embarrassed her by taking her picture and within three minutes her back legs seemed to be working again. She got her marshmallow for being an such a good girl in the bath and then she began showing everyone (me, Kev, Seka, and all three cats) how clean she was through a celebratory lap through the house. Well, several laps.

Seka was second in the bath and the reason why is the way she leaves the tub. Now, Seka has an incredibly shiny coat. Most everyone, including those who own black greyhounds, comment on how beautiful her coat is. I have little to do with this. It's all genetics. I really don't notice her shedding on a regular basis, but when I bath her it looks as if there's enough hair for another greyhound left in the tub. Where does this come from? Roxy left six hairs in the tub. Seka left 6000. I guess she's high maintenance like her mother.