Tails of a Boarding Kennel

 Basset Hounds have never been known for their vivaciousness.  They actually only have two speeds…High and Off.  They are the epitome of “laid back”.  If the breed were a day of the week, it would definitely be Sunday.

One of our favorite Basset Hounds was a male named Chel (pronounced: Shell).  I regret never having asked his owner how he came by that name, but Chel it was.

Even in the world of the Basset, Chel was slow, with a capital S.  It took him what seemed like hours to navigate from the office to the grooming room, where he crashed after being plum tuckered out from the effort.

Chel’s owner loved clean dogs, and always requested a bath prior to leaving the kennel.  This was quite a process, as he was much too heavy to carry to the grooming area.  We usually had enough foresight to keep him in a pen close the the tub, since waiting for him to walk the length of the kennel was painstakingly slow. 

Once in the tub, Chel would begin to “shrink” even as the shampoo was being applied.  He just was much too tired to stand in the tub for an entire bath without a nap.  His feet would begin to slide outward, and he would continue getting shorter and shorter until he was lying, spread eagle fashion, in the bottom of the tub.  His ears would be splayed out to the side like wings, and he would begin to snore.

While many dogs were a challenge to keep in the tub while bathing, everyone wanted to bath Chel, as the only challenge was to carry him to the drying crate without interrupting his dreams of, what else…a cat nap!