Aside from his given name, Murphy has a lot of other names. Baby Boy, Buckshot, Mammy’s Boy, Murph, Smurfy… you get the idea. But there is one name that I feel is the one that we should have given him when we got him:

Custard.

I love Murphy to bits but he is such a big coward. He always gets so unsettled about everything. Even when the postman comes in the morning, Murphy would jump and just start barking like crazy. He can never settle with people coming over, he always has to bark. Mum likes to think that he is protecting his territory. I think he’s just a big cowardy custard.

As he has grown up over the years, Murphy has calmed down a little somewhat, but there is one thing that I know that he will never change his mind over. The groomers.

Murphy HATES the groomers!

As businesses had been closed for such a long time, Murphy wasn’t able to go and get his fur clipped. By the end of May, he needed to go very badly. He was shedding all over the house, so much so that Mum had to get the sweeping brush out sometimes twice a day. It was also irritating him as well. Murphy always has a tendency to growl particularly during the evenings. Sometimes, if he has a sore eye, or if he’s tired and just wants to sleep. The way he growls is so adorable but we try our best not to annoy him too much. It isn’t fair on him.

Well over the last couple of months, Murphy began to growl even more. Mum suggested that the amount of fur that he had was irritating him and was making him itchy. The fact that his ears were becoming a bit of a problem as well. Murphy has beautiful long brown ears, that have little curls. But because his ears are so long, he has the tendency to get leaves and twigs tangled in them. Whenever anyone tries to get anything out, he growls. He really doesn’t like it when anyone messes with his ears!

So my mother managed to get Murphy an appointment a few weeks ago to get his hair cut and be all groomed. Murphy is so scared of everything, he always runs away whenever he sees any sharp scissors. Everytime he goes to the see the groomer, we have to put a muzzle on him, so he won’t bark or snap at anybody. And he hates the muzzle just as much as he hates the groomers! I always feel so bad when we put on the muzzle, he always pulls at it in a desperate attempt to get it off. While it is adorable, it still shows how much he hates anyone going near his face.

Whenever Mum drops him off, she has to sneak off quickly so Murphy doesn’t see her leaving him with the strange lady and her equipment. I remember Mum telling me how she felt the first time that she took Murphy to the groomers. Murphy looked at her with such a sad look in his eyes, that she was very nearly tempted to go back and cancel the appointment altogether.

It’s a bit funny though, whenever the groomer starts working on him, Murphy always seems to calm down. Maybe it’s because he realizes that whatever she is doing, she isn’t setting out to hurt him in any way. As a matter of fact, when she starts work on giving him a good wash, he actually seems to enjoy it!

It’s always so lovely to see the final appearance when the grooming’s all done. I am always in shock when looking at before and after pictures. Murphy always looks so different when he comes out. See for yourself!

It’s always so good to see Murphy look so clean and cuddly after being at the groomers! The trimming of his hair makes him look much younger, almost like a puppy again. Whenever he sees Mum afterwards, he always greets her very happily for two reasons; one – the ordeal was over, and two – he was cute and cuddly again! (not that he wasn’t already!)

Now that he’s been groomed once more, Murphy is far less growly to any of us. He has reverted back to being the cuddly baby boy that he was before. Back to playing fetch in the garden, cuddles on the couch in the evening. Of course, I have no doubt that he will revert back to Grumpy Growler, the next time he has to go to the groomers!