Nikki, Kayla & Big Fluffy Golden Dog

On Thursday, Nikki and Kayla got together after a respite due to the holidays, and boy, were they glad to see each other. Robin and I were ecstatic that these two could thankfully burn off some energy. They romped and played in their pool and generally had a wonderful time getting very dirty and muddy.

As you can see from this picture, the water quickly got very black as my Golden turned into a Mud Dog. Water was everywhere ... all over the patios, everywhere. I couldn't do too much because my knee and my low back was killing me. Four Advil helped and I was finally able to participate more in the end. But of course, I took videos which I'll post at http://southcoastdesigner.com/web-content/videos.html over the weekend.

Here, Robin is attempting to dump out the dirty water but Nikki had other ideas. That's my girl! Anytime she can "help" ....

At any rate, the plan was for my friend from high school, Marianne, to come over either before or at the same time as Robin and Kayla so she could meet Nikki and watch the pups in action. However, her plans changed so she didn't come over until after Robin and Kayla left, so she missed "The Show." But she did get to hang out with Nikki and me for quite a long time afterwards. Nikki was on her good behavior as she was tired, plus I kept the Gentle Leader on her. Good dog! Marianne and Nikki really hit it off.

After their play date, Nikki was a pretty dirty dog. Yes, most of the dirt fell off of her and on to my kitchen floor after she got dry, but I felt it was time for her to go back to PetsMart and have a bath. So I took her in on Friday and now she is the Big Fluffy Golden Dog.

And she is getting big, I tell you! I wonder if she now weighs close to 65 lbs. The lady at the grooming salon said that Nikki's collar was getting tight and that she needed a new one. That surprised me. But it really does seem that she's filled out quite a lot in the last week.

I took these last three photos after her grooming. You can see the mark of the Gentle Leader on her face, but I wanted to capture her all fluffy and clean before she went and got muddy again. (My back yard still is a bit of a muddy mess from emptying out the wading pool several times.) Here she is, trying to get me to play Fetch with her again. She's not a Golden Retriever for nuttin'!

Don't forget to check out the videos at http://southcoastdesigner.com/web-content/videos.html
and have a Happy and Safe New Year!