Just Fetching

11/29/2024

Nap time after haircut for this young fella. 🩷

10/20/2024

Pretty girl Sofie.
I love her handstripped coat. The salt and pepper colour is stunning

10/15/2024

Just sharing something I do outside grooming:

My new puppy, Myth, took Best Baby Puppy in show at his first show this weekend! Im very proud. (Baby puppies are dogs 4 months to under 6 months.)

My breed is the Norwegian Buhund. This is an ancient Viking herding breed in danger of extinction. They have very few genetic health issues and are fantastic family dogs but do shed a lot and have moderate to high energy needs.
I also like that they are a lazy persons show dog. Bath them and tidy the feet and you're done.

A few common misconceptions about conformation shows are that:

1. Dogs hate dog shows.
Truth: Most dogs love it and if they don't love it they usually won't do well. Expression and temperament is a huge part of the judging so having them happy matters.
If you're ever at shows you will see most people have high value treats, called bait, in their pockets. So basically the dog just runs around a circle and eats treats.

2. Only professional handlers win.
Truth: While it's true professional handlers tend to do better, that's because they are simply better at showing off the best parts of the dog. It's like you can cut your own hair but it won't look as good as a professional could make it.
So you absolutely can show a dog yourself and earn a title it just may take more than a weekend.

3. Dog shows are expensive
Truth: I mean, they can be if you're really serious about it but entering a class is $20-$35 usually. If you don't get a hotel and handle your dog yourself its actually pretty affordable.

Anyways, there is a lot more to dog shows than it seems from the outside. It's rather fun and I personally have had a lot of positive experiences and found people forgiving and helpful to less experienced people, like me.
I encourage people to go check one out sometime. Canuckdogs.com lists lots of Canada wide dog events. Just leave your pet dog at home and if at a conformation show ask before petting a dog.

08/31/2024

Lovely Lola enjoyed looking out the large window during her haircut.

Next week kids start school and then the week after I begin taking clients from London.

Online booking is open to new clients with appointment availability open Tuesday to Fridays starting at 9:30am.
https://booking.moego.pet/ol/JustFetching/landing

If you're a client driving from Hamilton you may find it easier to message me directly to book.
(519) 617-9445

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!
-Nicole

07/01/2024

https://booking.moego.pet/ol/JustFetching/landing

Online booking is now open to clients who wish to travel from Hamilton.
If you want to reach me new business number is (519) 617-9445

Our new Norwegian Buhund puppy, Myth, says he can't wait to meet you!
I will be taking him into the show rings later this year and hopefully into performance events in the far future.

The Norwegian Buhund is an ancient Viking herding breed in danger of extinction.

(And if youre wondering how I could afford him with the piles of vet bills I have; I can't. It's a long story but he was free.)

06/23/2024

Okay, one more weekend needed before I can take bookings. I need a faucet to get delivered and we have a small plumbing issue to trouble shoot but this is the bathing space. Walls are PVC so waterproof and easy to clean. Yay.

06/19/2024

Almost set up to take clients from Hamilton who wish to travel to my new location.
This weekend we are going to get the walls around the tub and dryer area waterproofed and the tub hooked up to water and I should be okay to work. There are still some functionality and aesthetic changes to be made but nothing that will impact my ability to groom.

Hopefully I will be able to get an email out by next Monday with booking availability,.

New number is (519) 617-9445.
My google listing is now updated with new location and phone number, so you should be able to find me if you need to.

Cheers,
Nicole

Send a message to learn more

05/22/2024

Today is my last day of work in Hamilton. If you want to pop in before we move I am around for the next week. Movers are coming on the 29th. Just give me advance notice or I may not be here.

To those that are making the drive to my new location I will hopefully be in contact soon.
Everyone else, it's been wonderful getring to know you and your dogs and I will miss you.

Sincerely,
Nicole

P.s. update on my dog: He's still not well and the vets aren't 100% sure why. They suspect he has a rare adrenal tumor and we are waiting on a referral to an internal medicine specialist. I've been rather upset but I'm starting to process it. If it is a tumor we will do what we can to maintain his quality of life.

Hes being pampered. This was him on Victoria day sunning his naked belly (shaved due to ultrasounds).
I am hoping we move and whatever curse this house has put on us the last 3 months will lift and he will miraculously get better...

04/06/2024

For those that know what's been going on the past week: Mjolnir is back home now

Hes been in and out of the vets for the past month. Had a UTI but didn't seem get better after a round of antibiotics. Shortly before his recheck he started vomitting. When he started to refuse food I brought him to regular vet.

His lab results made no sense and they didn't see an obstruction so he got transferred to emerg vet in Scarborough. Turns out it's a liver infection and something in his bowels. The thing in his bowels did get moving and broke up and he's on antibiotics, liver protectants and going for frequent blood tests but he's not dead. I was worried it was cancer and I've been a wreck. I can't lose my only remaining dog right now....

The staff at Chedoke animal has been really kind to me through all this. Between Maple passing, Mus issues and my cat over grooming himself to the point of a skin infection it's been a lot and they've shown me a great deal of sympathy. (Also my regular vet, Andrea, is a client of mine and she's one of the nicest people. Been one of my favorites for a long time. I highly recommend trying Chedoke if you're looking for a regular vet.)

03/17/2024

Many of you know already, but we recently sold our house and are moving to London at the end of May.

Housing is more affordable (we've been looking in Hamilton for 2 years) and my husband's drive to Oakville has been getting worse. He got a job offer in London and we found the perfect house so we decided to make the change. This has all happened very quickly. Basically since Maple passed away...

This is our new house if you're curious:
https://listings.walkthrumedia.ca/sites/59-sweetbriar-rd-london-on-n5y-5g1-7979132

02/28/2024

My poodle, Miss Maple, passed away this Monday. She was 12 but before her passing seemed energetic and joyful... So it's been a shock.

On Saturday she collapsed and we went through multiple vets and they thought it was an anaphylactic reaction. She seemed to get better so we thought it was correct. We picked her up Sunday night from the emerg vet.

Monday morning she seemed normal. She was giving high fives and bouncing around like normal but by the afternoon I knew something was wrong.

I took her back to the emerg clinic, she crawled into my lap and rested her head on my shoulder and it was then she let herself collapse again. I tried to get her help but when they checked her, her heart was surrounded by fluid and she passed away on her own while I was saying goodbye. I know she held on so she was with me. Her cuddling in my lap was when she knew she could go.

She was absolutely an amazing dog... Smart, playful, happy, kind. She never met an enemy. She would do tricks just for the joy of interacting with people.

So ya, I am in the shop this week and working but I'm struggling. I ask for patience as handling the communications is what I'm finding most difficult.
I appreciate everyone's compassion at this time. It's been a rough weekend and I'll hopefully be seeing you soon

02/14/2024

These guys are so cute. I've been grooming them for a long time (5+ years now) and I just love them.

12/21/2023

This has come up a few times this week so I'm just going to address it quickly:

My price raises aren't because I'm trying to get rid of any specific person. In fact, they are because I like almost everyone but I do need to cut down my client list.

I was really hoping to get things down to a level I could keep everyone on schedule while also not burning myself out. I am scared of ending up where I was before Lorelei was hired.

Additionally, Im also am having some issues with pain and I was trying to lessen the amount of handstripping I'm doing on a weekly basis. (I do a lot of it. Way more than my body is okay doing.) And I've been drastically underpricing it because imposter syndrome I guess.

So, yeah, if my price increase is something you can manage then awesome. Glad to keep you! However, if it's not that's totally okay too! I won't be insulted as long as you communicate respectfully.

I have never had an issue with clients trying other groomers. I won't be insulted if you cancel. I won't ask you where you are going. I dont think other groomers will traumatize your dog. Other groomers just have different ways of doing things and different strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes Im the best fit and sometimes not. The only thing is I may not have space to fit you in if you want to come back.

Anyways, ya. This was way too long but hopefully it will help stop people from looking at me oddly/asking if I have an issue with them specifically.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!
Sorry I dropped the price raise right before the holidays. It was just me trying to adapt to things as they come up.

12/19/2023

Last week before we take our break between Christmas and New Years!

Thank you everyone who has shown us kindness throughout the past year! I truly appreciate the support you have shown me!

p.s. If you've noticed the giant boxes down here, that was originally going to be a new counter. With the changes happening here now I'm not 100% sure I'll be doing the renovations I wanted over Christmas but ya... Let's see what the new year brings. Lol.