On Tuesday, the day of our anniversary, DearSweetDave and I were walking Buddha and Stella in Arana Gulch. The very fact that DearSweetDave was with me on this walk with the dogs is a testament to how special the day was, that it was not just an ordinary day, that we were perhaps sharing the day and celebrating something special! DearSweetDave so rarely comes with me to walk the dogs that even Buddha and Stella try to commemorate the occasions when he joins us by doing something extraordinary just for him.
On Tuesday they decided that would be chasing a skunk!
I'm sure that Stella, in her infinite wisdom, thought it was a cat. Or a squeaky toy. Whatever she believed it to be, she definitely thought it was something that must.be.chased. And caught. And Buddha, because he is Buddha, simply galloped along behind his sister like the big oaf that he is, doing whatever it is that she does because to have an original thought takes far too many precious brain cells and he has already learned that it is much easier in this life to allow Stella to do all the thinking!
DearSweetDave and I were wandering along quite a few paces behind the dogs having ourselves a genuinely dear and sweet moment when I noticed that Buddha was WRITHING on the ground. And that his eyes were watering. And that there was a tell-tale striped tail making its way into the bushes.
This tail was quickly followed by the tell-tale stench. Both dogs had gotten sprayed. Both dogs that were supposed to accompany us on our planned day trip to Berkeley. Both dogs who together now wreaked so badly that DearSweetDave and I were certain we were going to vomit.
DearSweetDave was ready to capitulate and give up on our anniversary plans, but I think he forgot for just a brief moment that he's married to Nakedjen. Who does not give up very easily at all. Especially when it is a special day. A day when she's got her DearSweetDave all to herself. A skunk is not going to ruin her day. No way. No how.
We threw both dogs into the car and I drove directly without passing Go, without collecting $200 (although the $200 certainly would have come in handy) to PetSmart. I walked into their grooming department and pleaded my case. I was on my way to Berkeley. Buddha and Stella had been SKUNKED! Could they possibly squeeze them in, bathe them, de-skunk them, and have them ready for pick-up later this afternoon?
I want you to know that this is where living in Santa Cruz for the last twenty years pays off. Those fabulous folks at PetSmart didn't even bat an eyelash. They just looked at their books, rearranged some bathing schedules and then said, "Bring in the dogs. We'll take care of everything. Go to Berkeley and have a WONDERFUL anniversary!"
Now that, dear readers, is service. Really. We had no appointment, we had no business being there, in all honesty. And yet, they just made it all better. All better.
So I left the dogs, arranged for their pick-up by my dear friend Shannon, and DearSweetDave and I went to Berkeley. Where we celebrated our seven years of marriage.
And the dogs? Let's just say they're smelling like happily ever after!