We often hear the complaint that in this country where conservation and wildlife preservation are so important, animals like manatees and jaguars get better treatment and more attention than some human beings. Its a sad and maybe true commentary on a "dread state of affairs, but many still believe that how we treat our animals shows the measure of regard we have for ourselves. And nowhere is that truer than with dogs, those perpetual best friends to man. True, their loyalty to us might stretch about as far as what we feed them but for many devotion to their canine companions is absolute. And that's why the newest rave among pet lovers is grooming. Yes there is a full service salon for pets and Keith Swift found that sometimes its hard to tell who gets more love: the dog or its master.
Keith Swift Reporting,
Enter the fabulous lives of Lulu, Julio, and Bubbles. Yes these are dogs but they are waited on hand and literally foot with the full salon treatment by the team at the animal medical center here they get their hair done, nails done, ears plucked, and body shampooed.
Miriam DeShield, Animal Medical Centre
"A grooming will include ears cleaned, and with most small breeds you need to pluck out the hair inside the ear because especially with poodle breed the hair is curly and tends to cause infection and problems. So we pluck hair from the inside the ear; we express the anal glands, there is a sac beside the anus that is filled with a smelly liquid and so small animals don't express that naturally very easily so we express the anal glands; we clip the nails; we do the cut; we bathe; we blow-dry them usually; and comb them out."
It's a labor of love and definitely vanity but Lulu's owner Isabel Goldberg says she wouldn't have it any other way because at least for her dog image is everything.
Isabel Goldberg, Poodle Owner
"She's a French poodle with a French name."
Q: _And a pretty cut.
Isabel Goldberg,
"Yes its very important because I just really like her looking good and also when it comes to the tick and little fleas and creatures it's much easier to deal it when they have a shorter cut. "
Q: Does Lulu look forward to getting her cut once a month?
Isabel Goldberg,
"Well I don't know if I can say she looks forward to it but I know whenever she comes here she doesn't look unhappy. Whenever she comes here she is fine and doesn't hesitate to want to come in and get her haircut."
Q: _Some people at home might say you are crazy to be spending that amount of money on your dog.
Isabel Goldberg,
"Well in a way she is kind of like a child too…to me she is like a child. She is my company and she is my companion and I feel like she deserves that kind of attention.
And that attention is more than just about vanity, veterinarian Jane Crawford says grooming will keep your pet healthy.
Dr. Jane Crawford, Veterinary Surgeon
"In Belize one of the biggest problems with dogs is fleas and ticks and the grooming doesn't only entail coming to the vet and having your dog groom, grooming can be done at home as well. Every two weeks you have to bathe your dog and at home you do your own grooming and try to get rid of fleas and ticks which carry a lot of diseases. So keeping your dog clean means you have a healthy dog."
A healthy and why not also a fashionable dog. Miriam DeShield leads the team of groomers and she says yes, dogs do want to look good too.
Miriam DeShield,
"Yes I think they do. I mean with the poodles like Lulu she will prance around and she wants to put on a show. Now certainly the dogs want to feel good and I think a big part of grooming is healthcare for your animals. I think that is why we started with it because if you have a dog that is a poodle with very thick matted hair and it is not taken care of then you end up with fungal infection underneath, you end up with sores under the skin, you end up with fleas and ticks trapped under there and its nasty. So certainly they want to feel good and I think they want to look good."
And they are different hairstyles for different dogs for example today Bubbles got his poodle cut while Julio got his Schazzner cut. Yes dogs do want to look good and even for them there is no age limit on vanity. Killer is a 21-year-old dog that's 147 human years if you keeping count and he too came to get groomed.
Anita Tupper, Poodle Owner
"Killer is 21."
Q: _And he is still getting groomed?
Anita Tupper,
"Yes still getting groomed. We brought him from Canada and he has been down in Belize for 12 years."
Q: Even in his old age you think he still needs to look his best?
Anita Tupper,
"Of coursre, he is very vain. He likes getting groomed."
So whether it is for hygiene or vanity you can argue with the reasons but can't argue with the outcome because these dogs look dogged good.
A grooming costs between $43 and $80 dollars and they do other pets too. The Animal Medical Center is located at the corner of Castle and Lancaster Streets in Belize City.