The Stray Dog, part 8

Another day unfolds for Karl and his new friend
If you haven't been following along in this series, scroll to the bottom to see what’s come before.

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these two images are not the same, can you tell the difference?
(Image by Krazy Uncle)

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Thursday 20th
Sorry for the lateness of today’s update. But, the two buddy's day was a whirlwind of activity and emotion. To the burning question everyone has, the previous owner was contacted by the Technician for our girlfriend/Doctor Lady on Facebook, and today that person responded. The word is that Facebook person relinquished control of Karl to another person a long time ago. Facebook person indicated that they would try to contact the person that took control of Karl, but there is no word yet. (Turns out no one ever claimed Karl… This magical dog and I were just meant to be together.)

One bit of sadness was relayed by Facebook person, they said they'd rescued Karl from an abusive situation and had him for about three months before giving him up. The Tech said it all sounded a bit hinkey to her and I agreed. I can also see now why Karl was so skittish around me when he first showed up, besides becoming half wild just to survive in the wildness around us. I remember once getting a strong impression when I was first trying to get to know Karl. I'd reached out to touch him and he shied away and three words formed in my mind, "Hands that hurt..." I still hurt and get mad to think that anyone would abuse any dog, but especially one as sweet as Karl.

Doctor Lady informed us that as far as they are concerned Karl and I are paired. Many Hallelujahs, Yahoos and Oh, yeas! were heard in this corner of two states!

Of course I’ll still be just a little timid until Sunday morning when five days have passed, but that’s just me being cautious, don’t tell Karl – he’d probably snort and laugh at me! :)

Just so you know Karl is sleeping on the ottoman between my outstretched legs as I write this.

Backing up a bit though, to this morning, I couldn’t sleep all that well because I wanted to go visit Karl at the clinic as soon as I could. I made it to the Veterinary Clinic about an hour after they opened, just to take Karl out for a walk and to tell him I was still around. When they brought Karl out, he… well his body was shaved, and most of his legs, but his feet and head were still really shaggy. I expected this as I knew that the clinic was going to shave him later in the day – and I took some pictures, but Karl doesn’t want me to publish them – what with him having a bad hair day and all.

Karl and I were escorted outside by two of the clinic’s employees I’d never seen before. I’m pretty sure they were scoping me out to make sure I wasn’t going to abscond with Karl. At first Karl was a little bashful with me and I crouched down to see him eye to eye, but since he hadn’t had his morning coffee I could understand. I looked at the two employees and they at me, and Karl suddenly realized who I was and dived between my legs, licking my face and I could see the two employees visibly relax. Karl might have been picking up their distrusting vibes and they were a bit concerned before he recognized me.

I walked Karl to the back yard of the facility and he sniffed and peered, and peed on the grass just doing dog stuff. We walked the perimeter of the yard and then I took him over and sat on the railroad tie that separates the backyard from the gravel parking area. Karl was very glad to see me and he sat between my legs with his back to me, laughing and kissing my face with his long tongue. After a while I had to leave Karl, but I could tell both of us were happier for my visit.

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Finally home... (Image by Krazy Uncle)

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I went to the store and as I was driving to a nice Mexican fast food joint, I spied a pet store that offers a dog washing station for Do-It-Yourselfers. Hmm… my Spidey sense went off at that. So, I went inside and talked to the nice lady/proprietor. She showed me her store, and it is small with no pets for sell, but she has all kinds of good food for pets, plus the dog wash stations. For eighteen dollars the fuzzy one’s and their human helpers get the use of a huge stainless steel tub, with a hand held shower head, shampoo, towels and a blow dryer, plus cleaning the facility is on the store. The pet’s buddy can close the door to the shower room, for safety and to keep other people’s dogs from interrupting the bathing experience. Really a pretty good deal. In the course of our conversation I told her that Karl was at the clinic and she told me she used to work at that clinic twenty years ago. She suggested that I have the Vet bathe Karl since he was there… I called the vet as soon as I left and asked if I couldn’t have them bathe Karl… “Oh, sure. No problem.” Whew, two more problems solved, a trim and a bath, both in one stop. Cool.

So, I went home to prepare the house for Karl being invited inside. And, by the time I got done I had to hightail it back to town to get Karl. I paid the bill and bought some of the recommended dog food for him. A little expensive, but what the heck. Only the best for our Karl… right?

Then it was time for the big unveil, and out came Karl, or should I say new and much more comfortable Karl? Boy does he look good shaved – Karl suggested the before and after photos just for contrast. We are both so happy with the results, and I don’t feel like I have to check myself for ticks anymore when I pet Karl.

When Karl and I got home the Vet's it was time for a short walk, and when we got home from our walk, I left Karl’s collar on so I could lead him into the house. After the Grand Tour of Casa del Karl and his human Amigo, I started pounding keys to catch everyone up.

So, that was our day and we hope yours was equally adventurous and fulfilling. Until tomorrow’s update we thank you for following our ongoing tail… wait tale, and don’t let the bed bugs bite… we aren’t :)
That’s all for today folks – stay tuned

To see what you’ve missed so far here are the links to the previous installments.
The Stray Dog part 1: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog
The Stray Dog part 2: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog-part-2
The Stray Dog part 3: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/stray-dog-part-3
The Stray Dog part 4: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog-part-4
The Stray Dog part 5: https://steemit.com/dogs/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog-part-5
The Stray Dog part 6: https://steemit.com/dog/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog-part-6
The Stray Dog part 7: https://steemit.com/dog/@krazyuncle/the-stray-dog-part-7