66 Saber Tails Summer 2017

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

“Tails” from the

CLOWN HOUND FILES 

We want to hear from you!  I have at least 50 tales of hilarity to publish here…but with hundreds of members, I’m sure we 

have thousands of stories just waiting to be told.  Send your story to Tiffany Cannon at alwayspbgv@aol.com and we’ll 

publish it here.  If you don’t think you have the gift of storytelling…no problem – I’m happy to help.  Send a completed 

story or just a note that you have a great tale to tell and I’ll get in touch with you to put it down on paper.

Spa Day

Featuring “Aslak”

6 years old at the time of this “tail”

As told by Tiffany Cannon

Aslak has been featured here before, but this recent event was too perfect for these pages not to be published.  I would 

imagine that this ‘tail’ is one that any one of our members can relate to.  If you’ve had a PBGV, you have undoubtedly 

needed an occasional emergency bath.  They love getting into things…the dirtier and smellier the better!

Aslak gets groomed only about every other month.  He has a great coat, but is constantly matted.  His hair doesn’t 

tangle, but he is a collector of ‘stuff.’  In between baths and brushes, he picks up sticks, dirt, debris and a wide variety of 

mystery substances all stuck deep in his coat up against the skin.  And he does not seem to be content until he has rolled 

around for days, thoroughly twisting hair around the foreign object making it really fun to comb out!  

One Saturday, I dutifully donned my grooming coat, grabbed my comb and other 

grooming implements and prepared for battle.  Everything about Aslak is a full 

contact sport.  He is a moving target and Aslak is NOT a fan being groomed, (prob-

ably because he’s always covered in stuff I need to dig out).  After an hour or so of 

grooming and trimming, into the bath tub he went and out he came soon after 

smelling fresh, sparkling clean and ready to run around the yard showing off.  

Unbeknownst to us…a buried pipe had cracked in the back of the yard.  From the 

house, all looked normal across the back of the acre behind our house.  But, we all 

know, looks can be deceiving!  Have you ever noticed that PBGVs actually go look-

ing for trouble?  And they usually find it?!?!

At 6:00 pm, I called the dogs in for dinner.  Needless to say…Aslak 

was NOT clean any longer.  “What on earth?!?!  Where did you find all 

that mud?  It hasn’t even rained in days!?!?”  The only thing you can 

do in a situation like this…  Let him eat his dinner.  Turn him loose 

back in the yard and follow him.  Because you can always count on 

a PBGV to lead you straight to the scene of the crime.  Why?  Be-

cause they are not ever ashamed of their mischief.  They are actual-

ly quite proud of their accomplishments.  I got the distinct impres-

sion that Aslak was proud of finding a problem for us and pointing 

it out.  

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