One of Richie's strong points is that he is very patient with grooming, other than the fact that he really hates baths. His groomer used to work here in Colorado Springs, but now works close to Denver, so instead of driving all the way up there, I take him to her apartment, where she bathes him in her tub (just like I do at home) and grooms him on her kitchen table. He does try to climb out of the tub and is a drama king when it comes to nail trimming (he must think I will save him from those scary clippers), but otherwise seems to enjoy blow drying and tolerates the actual haircut well. He holds particularly still while she is grooming his face; I think he likes to be handsome.

Since she doesn't have a grooming table in her apartment, his groomer usually just covers the table with plastic, and he is pretty good about standing still for her. The last time he was groomed, he was slipping on the plastic a little bit and she got the idea to use her rubber cutting board to keep him more stable. It worked really well, even though he seemed a little surprised about the different surface.

Richie teaches me things every day, and that day the lesson was adaptability and rolling with the punches. Even if the solution to a challenging situation is a little unorthodox, that doesn't mean it won't work just fine.