The peace and tranquility of living in the country is certainly a great reason to live outside of the hustle and bustle of the suburbs. Part of the tranquility is watching nature. Out here we have all kinds of animals that we enjoy spying and some that we have grown to resent (try finding a mouse in your sock drawer).
This past weekend, our grandson was staying with us. He has been good with Indy and is enjoying getting to know her, getting to know commands, and taking her for walks. He decided to take Indy to explore some of the back property, which is a win win for a boy and a dog! As they returned home, a very pungent odor was present near the dog…what is that? Cow? Well, we don’t have cows on our property, so after some thought we decided she must have rolled in deer poop! OMG, this is not part of the plan for the day, nor had I though that I would have to figure out how to bath this large dog! What now?!? 
My choices to clean the dog up and get rid of that smell, included putting her in my car and finding a groomer, find a doggie bath, or getting her into my shower stall…the shower it is!
I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but remember we live in a small space. Our 33′ trailer is equipped with a shower large enough for a man but is it big enough for a large dog and her hooman? I decided that at this point in time, the only thing is to try and get her showered. Cue comedy music…
After lot of struggles of even getting her into the small bathroom (took 2 of us), then shutting the door to prevent escaping, I was able to literally drag her into the shower stall. Once there she stood pretty good to get a nice shampoo and rinse. Although there were a couple of escape attempts, she was fairly well contained. I can attest tho that my back, after struggling with her and leaning to wash her, was certainly strained. And then, what do dogs want to do once they are wet, shake of course. I’m not sure my tiny bathroom has ever seen so much water!
After completing the beauty treatment, I then needed to scrub the bathroom top to bottom, every surface for water and dog hair. This was a project I had not planned for on my day off! I was looking forward to the rest of the day full of rest, relaxation!
Once Indy was dry, I took her for a lovely walk and on our return we received a wonderful brushing and some more TLC, what a good doggie momma I am! Until…
Not 2 seconds after I stropped brushing the doggo, she went directly to the grass and begun to roll around. At first I didn’t think too much about it but I quickly realized that of all the 20 acres she could have rolled, she of course chose the spot a deer had left a special treat, just for my nose!! I’m not sure I could be any angrier! I definitely was not going to do the whole rinse and repeat that the shampoo bottle said to do but this dog can not remain this stinky in our tiny home!
With some quick thinking, I recalled that our trailer is equipped with an outside hose connection, so that’s where her second bath would take place, too bad it was cold water! I put on her harness and attempted to wash this dog one more time. I am certain if my neighbors could hear me, they would have thought I was crazy, they would have been mostly right because crazed was part of the event. Holding with one hand and washing with the other was a true test of my strength.
I am most certain it will take days for my body to recover but my trust in this doggie may be gone for a while longer…
Doggie Washer (Trudi)
The Nomad Nightingale 