Fungus Among Us

The recent rains have brought up a bumper crop of mushrooms around the Cape and South Shore. We see them everywhere, from woodland trails to manicured lawns to open pastures, popping up  in every shape from tiny parasols to golf balls, soft balls, fluted goblets and one that resembled a bowler hat or perhaps a space ship.

Albeit charming in appearance, we've all been warned many times not to eat wild mushrooms. Delectable sautéed with butter and herbs or stirred into sour cream for stroganoff or soup, yes, but unless you are a mushroom expert and 100% sure of what you've collected, wild mushrooms shouldn't be on your menu, nor your pet's.

This spring one of our customers on the South Shore told us about nearly losing her beloved Golden Retriever because the dog had eaten some harmless looking mushrooms growing in her suburban yard. Luckily she was able to rush the dog to an emergency vet who was able to save the dog, but had she not been home or noticed her pet's distress the result would have been tragic. 

The ASPCA reports that 99% of mushrooms are harmless but the 1% that are toxic are extremely dangerous. They recommend that you should immediately call your veterinarian and/or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888 426 4435 if you see your pet eating a wild mushroom. If you have a yard, keep an eye on any mushrooms that appear and remove and discard them safely as soon as possible.

We recommend that you take advantage of this beautiful fall weather by taking as many long walks with your dog as possible, but keep an eye on your pooch when walking in the woods.

"Short But Not Too Short"

It seems this is what we most often hear requested by customers: "Short but not too short." Oh my gosh, can you imagine how hard it is to guess what someone else means by short? We group our clips into "functional" categories so it's easier to communicate with customers about what they have in mind.

A "buzz" or "shavedown" is the shortest clip we do, about 1/16th of an inch or a little longer. It creates a fine, silky texture on many soft haired dogs and cats - like a fine Persian carpet. This is the length we must clip when a pet's coat has tangles or mats, because we have to be able to get the clippers under the knots or mats, which lie close to the skin. We also clip lots of cats into lion cuts at this length. It takes about 3 months for a cat to re-grow a coat clipped this way. Amadeus, the labradoodle pictured here, received a buzz cut this weekend at Country Garden's Dog Days of Summer as a fundraiser for Barnstable Dog Parks.

A "summer" or "utility" clip is 3/8" - 3/4". These lengths give pets more coverage but are short enough to avoid matting and can help keep pets cooler during hot weather. Less hair on the pet also means less hair in the house. Pets with fluffy undercoats, such as huskies and many cat breeds, look better with tighter clips.

At about 1" many coat types will knot and mat so the choice to preserve a longer coat length involves a commitment to brush and demat regularly or arrange for professional grooming at least once every month.

At Aussie Pet Mobile Cape Cod, we offer "preferred customer" discounts for those who want to get on our schedule at least once per month. Call the office for pricing at 508 534 9875.

That's Why They Call 'Em Dogs

We went to Dowses Beach today. This little gem of a beach was just about pristine this sunny winter afternoon… except for the blackening body fluids of dead crabs and crustaceans on the parking lot where Grigri slipped in a quick slime bath before I noticed. Call 1-800 PET MOBILE! Oh, oops, that's me.

Grigri and I had a brisk walk and filled a white kitchen bag full of beverage containers and a few ragged garments. You wonder where things come from when they wash up. I remember as a kid a few times somebody in our neighborhood found a real note in a bottle. This week a mooring washed up on our beach - a heavy chunk of cement with a ring in the top - how could our wimpy Nantucket Sound waves push that thing up the beach?

In 2007, Jan and I spent a few days on a barrier island in Kenya. The warm Indian Ocean reminded me a bit of Nantucket Sound, but with bigger waves. There were beautiful beaches, but in some places the jagged bedrock served as "teeth" to catch flotsam and jetsam heaved onto it by the waves. All kinds of plastic were snared, but particularly foam rubber from "flip flops". The islanders harvest this and use sharp knives and hole punches to carve the brilliant colored foam into sculptures, jewelry and other decorative items. The mastery of some of these artisans is really hard to believe unless you saw the raw materials, the artists working at the doors of their huts to catch the light and the finished products all together.

Thinking about Africa, I was daydreaming and gazing at a flock of seagulls imagining that they were relaxing on the blacktop to enjoy the reflected heat on this bright but cold day. Grigri took this lapse of attention to throw himself onto the pavement and vigorously grind some black slime into his coat. Oh, that's why the gulls are all here; they're dropping crabs and shellfish onto the parking lot to break them up. Grigri had found some very old crab remains which were so juicy they left a big sticky spot on his fur which hardened into a glue-like patch on the way home and I had to drive home with all the wondows open. Yuck! I don't think I've ever smelled anything that bad. Luckily, I'm in the pet grooming business so a quick bath and blow dry is easy and fun. Grigri doesn't favor the bathing part of the process, but I hand dry him in my lap, which he loves. He sits contentedly for me and turns his head this way and that to catch the stream of warm air on his neck and behind his ears where he likes it best.

We're Aussie Pet Mobile Cape Cod!

My husband, Jan, our little dog Grigri and I are Aussie Pet Mobile Cape Cod, an environmentally conscious mobile pet grooming service that offers more convenience for you and less stress for your pets. We serve dogs, cats and their "fur parents" from Provincetown to Duxbury. Concerned about the environmental degradation we're facing globally we decided to act locally. When we're not keeping your cats and dogs clean and cute, we'll do our part to keep our beaches and trails clean too. This blog is about our adventures in grooming the dogs, cats, trails and beaches of Cape Cod and the South Shore. We'll also cover local pet friendly events and ideas to have more fun with your pets. Join us and if you see us on the beach or trails, come on over and say hello - we'll give you a $10 off new customer coupon.