We lost a dear client this month. Heather has been coming to Country Pet Shoppe for about 10 years. In that amount of time, you can really grow to care about someone. She was sweet, patient, and always wanted to please. She loved the bows we put in her hair and proudly showed them off when she took her person for a walk. Ten years might not be much more than a blip in our lives, but it is a lifetime for a dog. Heather is gone now, and we miss her.
One of the things about living in a small town is that you get to know the folks around you. They might not come over to your house for dinner or get together with you on the weekend, but the folks we know around our town — at the stores, in the businesses, in the schools — all become a part of the fabric of our lives nonetheless and we enjoy having them there. They are familiar and friendly. They make a hectic day seem a little calmer, cheer us when we are down, share in our joys. They make our world seem like a kinder, gentler place. This goes for the pets around our town as well. I know several people who come to the pet store just to visit Bailey and Houdini.
In a small store in a small town, there are customers who become part of our lives as well. We know some for their smile, some for the laughter they bring, some for their fun, flirtatious manner, some for the warmth of who they are. And yes, some are a challenge. Some are grouchy, some are curt, some are pushy. They are part of our lives, too.
Sometimes, life circumstances take these people from our lives. When they go it leaves a hole. The same goes for the pets around town; we still mourn the loss of Blaze (the fire-dog) and Rusty from Sacks.
In a pet store, not only do we get to know our human customers, we make friends with their pets as well. This is especially true for the dogs we groom. We spend the better part of the day working very closely with these dogs. We tend to them, pay attention to their comfort, sooth them if they’re nervous. We learn their favorite places to be scratched, hug them, even sing for them. Of course that’s the fun part of the job; we also breathe their hair, swallow it and get it in our eyes, we clean the poop that’s gotten stuck in overgrown hair, we physically hold them up when they are old and have a hard time standing, we wrestle with their reluctant paws for a nail trim, and try to get a straight, clean cut with scissors while they dance in circles on the table. Then we give them a hug and tell them what a good dog they are. In the time we spend with them, we really come to care about them. It is part of what makes the job fun. It’s also part of what makes the job hard. Our clients move, they go to new homes, or they get old and pass away. It leaves a hole, and we miss them.
I guess living in a small town has its happy moments and its bittersweet moments too. Of course, if we didn’t care, it wouldn’t hurt. I think it’s the caring that makes small town living so special.
