My First Born

Introducing....

MASON...



Then

AND



Now!





I know that he may not be my child, and that my real child is on the way. Mason, is and always will be my first born. I love this (gumpy old) man more then you could ever imagine.

While my boyfriend/fiance (now husband) was away at school at:

Mason kept me company at THE duplex. He is the worlds best guard dog.

I can say that 'cause his barking has caused the neighbors to call the cops. They are the dog haters of the world tho. Which speaking of, 3 more dogs moved in next door, so I am sure that these people are SO happy! :-)

anyways...back to Mason...he is also the worlds best cuddle bug.

not the best picture, but heck it was taken with my phone. SORRY!





He may weigh 50 pounds but he thinks he is a lap dog and will jump right in the middle of your lap. I LOVE it!

One of Mason's FAVORITE things to do is go swimming. Yes, swimming! Not just a jump in the pool to get the frisbee, but he will get it swim from one side to the other, and hop out. Well after watching him do this several times, we figured out it was because he was so dang hot! I mean look at how furry he is!



"Hey! I can still see the TV!"



We live in Texas, in hot, humid East Texas and he carries around about 40 pounds of fur! No wonder he was HOT!

When he would swim, we could be in the pool with him, put him on the step and pull back his hair and the under coat and skin were still dry because the water could not get through to them because of the thinkness of his hair.

So one year, we got smart and decided to take him to get a haircut. I called one place and they gave me a good price so, off me and Mason went to get his hair cut. I dropped him off and was told it would be 3-4 hours and they would call. So I headed home, did who knows what, and then they called and said my baby was ready!

The whole way I was nervous becuase I didnt know what he would look like. I walked in and nearly screemed! His body looked great. His tail they had shaved from his ummm, butt up about six inches and then left a fur ball at the end. Then I caught a look at his head. He looked like a lion. There was no blending, they shaved up to his neck and stoped. He really and truly had a lines mane.

It was AWEFUL.

I was almost in tears because I was the bad mom who signed him up for this! I finally gathered my words and spit out something that must have sounded like "shave his tail" because she plopped him up on that table and shaved that ball off his tail.

He looked 1000 times better after that. I asked about blending his head, but the lovly groomer lady looked at me like I had a lions mane. So I paid the money, tightened Masons collar and left.

He was so embarrased. He looked like he was screaming inside "IM NAKED and in PUBLIC!!!! People can see me!" So one sad look later and we were back in the truck!

That afternon the hubby and I took him over to the pool. We knew it would feel so much better. When he jumped in he "yelped" he had never felt the cold water on his skin before and it scared him. He soon got used to it and loved the pool even more.

The next summer we decided that we needed to get him shaved again, but NOT at the same place. Over that year a new shopping center had emerged and so had a new pet store. I called that place to get a price. It was an even better price then the first place. But that worried me. I told them all about the tramatic expericance last year and she assured me that they would take detailed notes and make him look perfect. So off Mason and I went to get his hair cut.

We got there and sure enough, the lady took D.E.T.A.I.L.E.D notes. We told her we wanted his hair about 2 inches long, we wanted his tail SHAVED and we wanted his head blended with the rest of his body. The groomer lady was not the most friendly person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting but she assured me in her husky voice that she would do just what we wanted. So I kissed my baby, promised him it would be ok, and quickly walked out before I changed my mind.

3 or 4 long Long LONG hours later I got the call saying that Mason was ready! I hurried over to pick him up. I had a knot in my stomach the long drive there (15 min) and the whole way to the back of the store. "What if its not good again?" is what I kept thinking over and over.

I opened the door to the "salon" and there he was, shaved (tail and all), and had a beautiful blended head! He looked so CUTE! I was in love. If it wasnt for the fact that other people where there and staring, I might have jumped over that grooming table and hugged that lady!

So again this year we decided it was time for a hair cut for Mason. And he is such a happy boy! SEE:



Look at my shaved tail! :-)





The pool will be opening in a few days and this will make his first dive a cool and refreshing one.