"You didn't tell us there was pond too!"

Yes, the dogs finally discovered the pond. Walking down to the pond and seeing them both out in the middle of it, smiling, one could almost sense them thinking "all this and a pond too!" Anyway, it was quite a weekend here on the compound with the guys.




It was quite an exciting time on the compound. Duke and Maxx met Aunt & Uncle who came to watch the Redskin game. Fortunately it was a 4pm game which gave us plenty of time to get the dogs bathed and cleaned up. Now, a bath and grooming would not be something we would ordinarily do because of a visit by Aunt & Uncle (or anyone else).




BUT as you can see from the stunning photographs (click on a photo to view full size), Maxx & Duke having discovered the pond were in to shape to have company. To say they smelled bad is an understatement. They stunk so bad that we had to hose them down just to be able to allow them onto the back deck (which we had to "wall off" to make sure they didn't go BACK to the pond). A quick backyard shampoo was in order which proved useless in combating the slime, grime and pond scum that clung so tightly to their soft long coats. Off to Petco for a professional 'emergency' grooming. It is probably a good thing that Front Royal now has that shiny new shopping center north of town with Petco and others, since we now have what amounts to an open account at the pet store. Fortunately for us, they were able to 'work' the boys in, have them all neat and clean, smelling nice and ready for their first Aunt & Uncle meeting. They (the dogs) are a trip! The day went well, Uncle who is not a big dog person, enjoyed the guys and Maxx, sensing maybe he needed to be extra nice to Uncle, immediately sat at his feet and propped his head on Uncle's shoe all the while looking up at him with those eyes that say "i know you really like me". Quite a day! Too bad the Skins had to ruin it all by losing to the hated New York Football Giants. Oh well, on to the next game (and dog adventure). Stay tuned...