Urine

It's not that I have an issue with urine (also known as pee, potty, etc). I'm a nurse, so dealing with it when I work is a norm for me. In fact, last weekend, I had to catheterize an infant for the sole purpose of obtaining urine. I've also been through potty training with both kids. And frankly, everybody pees.

What I don't like is urine where it doesn't belong. In this case, it was the dog. We've had Maggie since she was a puppy. In fact, her 5th birthday is in February. She potty trained quite easily in comparison with the kids. Today, however, she must have forgotten WHERE she should potty. When we're gone, she stays in her crate in the garage. Today I was gone for 3 hours. When I arrived home and let her outside from her crate, I noticed her leg and backside appeared wet. I think to myself, what the heck? So, I go look in her crate. Sure enough, it looked like splattered pee.

So, it was bath time. Now, some of you might think "no big deal...just put her in the bathtub". That's not an option for me. You see, Maggie is big. A big black lab. A big black lab who sheds. A lot. When I've tried the "indoor bath", I spent the next hour wiping off dog hair from all the walls. From that time on, I vowed never to bathe her in the bath again.

Thus, the option was the hose. Good news, is that it was sunny and temperatures were above freezing and I have great boots from Costco (new in October). Some of you may be thinking 'torture'. I'm thinking 'sanity'. I'm also thinking, 'she's a dog - by nature a hunting dog - and hunting dogs swim in cold water'. So, after changing into clothing that is unfit to wear in public, I tie her up, hose her down and wash her with shampoo. I dry her with a towel and let her sit in the sun to dry. All in all, the bath experience took under an hour. And no walls were cleaned in the process. Hooray.

P.S. The picture is not from today - it's from last January.