Urban Dog mobile grooming

A sample of photos throughout my grooming career.

Some before and afters . So blessed to have such amazing clients

I have three spots open this month for small dogs. text 778-587-7759 to book a spot.

I will be out of cell range until the 15th, just send an email or text and I will when I return!

Scientists say 90% of pet parents make these top 3 pet food storage mistakes that take your kibble, canned and fresh food from healthy to harmful . Join me here for a Facebook Live tomorrow, 10am EST with special guest Rodney Habib!

THE MOST DANGEROUS PET CHEW EVER: RAWHIDE! How can one of the most popular chew sticks on the planet be so dangerous for your pets, you ask? I mean, most dogs c...hew on rawhide for hours on end, and not only does it keep them busy, but they seem to last forever. Well if you understood what it took to make this toxic raw leather stick, you would quickly understand what the problem is. Aside from the horror stories circulating all over social media these days, of pets needing emergency surgery after consuming rawhide, the majority of pet parents today, especially the newbies, believe that this chew is some sort of dried up meat stick. Let me debunk that myth right away! A rawhide stick is not the by-product of the beef industry nor is it made of dehydrated meat. Rather, rawhide is the by-product of the Leather Industry, so theoretically it is a leather chew. Sounds awesome, right? Producing rawhide begins with the splitting of an animal hide, usually from cattle. The top grain is generally tanned and made into leather products, while the inner portion, in its raw state, goes to the dogs. TheBark.com So, how does this leather, which is conveniently rolled up into pretty shapes, actually get made into those rawhide chews? Follow along my friends and I will enlighten you on how this hide travels through a leathery process where it transforms from hide to a not-so beautiful, colorful, chew stick. Here is a paraphrased tutorial that was explained by the whole dog journal several years back: STEP 1: Normally, cattle hides are shipped from slaughterhouses to tanneries for processing. These hides are then treated with a chemical bath to help preserve the product during transport to help prevent spoilage. (No one wants to purchase a black, spoiled rawhide stick!) Once at the tannery: the hides are soaked and treated with either an ash-lye solution or a highly toxic recipe of sodium sulphide liming. This process will help strip the hair and fat that maybe attached to the hides themselves. (No, no one wants to see a hairy hide) Next on this glorious journey, these hides are then treated with chemicals that help puff the hide, making it easier to split into layers. The outer layer of the hide is used for goods like car seats, clothing, shoes, purses, etc. But, it’s the inner layer that is needed to make the rawhide. (Oh and other things like gelatin, cosmetics, and glue as well!) STEP 2: Now that we have the inner layer of the hide, it’s time to go to the post-tannery stage! Hides are washed and whitened using a solution of hydrogen peroxide and/or bleach; this will also help remove the smell of the rotten or putrid leather. Bonus! (Research also shows that other chemicals maybe used here to help the whitening process if the bleach isn’t strong enough.) STEP 3: Now it’s time to make these whitened sheets of this leathery by-product look delicious! So, here is where the artistic painting process comes in. Basted, smoked, and decoratively tinted products might be any color (or odor) underneath the coating of (often artificial) dyes and flavors. They can even be painted with a coating of titanium oxide to make them appear white and pretty on the pet store shelves. - whole-dog-journal.com the Material Safety Data Sheet reveals a toxic confection containing the carcinogen FD&C Red 40, along with preservatives like sodium benzoate. But tracking the effects of chemical exposure is nearly impossible when it’s a matter of slow, low-dose poisoning. thebark.com Ok, now that these hides have been painted, it’s time for the final process. STEP 4: Getting it to last forever! Because the FDA does not consider these chews to be food, really it’s a free for all when it comes to the manufacturers of these leather strips, and the products they may want to add to these chews, to get them to last forever. Any sort of glue can be added here to get these bad boys to never come apart. When tested: Lead, arsenic, mercury, chromium salts, formaldehyde, and other toxic chemicals have been detected in raw hides. So it’s safe to say that any sort of glues can be used as well! Finally, it’s time to package and attach all the glorious marketing labels to the product. Check out the fine print warning that’s attached with some of these rawhides: Choking or blockages. If your dog swallows large pieces of rawhide, the rawhide can get stuck in the esophagus or other parts of the digestive tract. Sometimes, abdominal surgery is needed to remove them from the stomach or intestines. If it isn’t resolved, a blockage can lead to death. (Oh, how lovely) And there it is! It’s now ready to be shipped to store shelves where it can be purchased for our loving animal companions. How do proactive veterinarians feel about these chews? Here is world-renowned veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker's take on the matter: The name ‘rawhide’ is technically incorrect. A more accurate name would be processed-hide, because the skin isn’t raw at all. But the term rawhide has stuck. Rawhide chews start out hard, but as your dog works the chew it becomes softer, and eventually he can unknot the knots on each end and the chew takes on the consistency of a slimy piece of taffy or bubble gum. And by that time your dog cannot stop working it -- it becomes almost addictive. At this point, there’s no longer any dental benefit to the chew because it has turned soft and gooey, and, in fact, it has become a choking and intestinal obstruction hazard. P.S. Ready for the jaw dropper? An investigation by Humane Society International stated in their report, In a particularly grisly twist, the skins of brutally slaughtered dogs in Thailand are mixed with other bits of skin to produce rawhide chew toys for pet dogs. Manufacturers told investigators that these chew toys are regularly exported to and sold in U.S. stores. dogingtonpost.com Rodney Habib Pet Health Site "An educated, informed and well-researched community of pet owners can only put more pressure on the pet food industry to be better! When pet owners know better, they will only do better!"

I have been getting back to grooming , limited days as Charlie isn’t going back to preschool this year. Text, pm or email me for a spot . Due to ongoing back issues, I am only able to do small- medium sized dogs . See you beauties soon!

Grooming for me is therapeutic. Nothing brings you into presence as being in check and aware of your emotions and energy while working with animals. Here are some photos of some sweeties I took . Thank you all for trusting me with tour precious pups. It is an honour to work with them.

Hello Beautiful people!! Spring is here and I know your pets are getting scruffy during the covid times. I am still not fully working as my daughter doesn’t have preschool currently. But I am trying to create some type of schedule and find time to accommodate the requests around mom duty . To all the new requests- I am accepting new small clients , but will not be filling in while other groomers are shut down. I always appreciate new clients, but have a bigger interest in d...eveloping a relationship with your pet, so they can feel safe and calm for the grooming process . My work I do with animals is to show them that grooming is safe and stress free, one time visits do not allow for this to happen. And can cause more stress to your pet. Looking forward to seeing how this new normal unfolds as things begin to open back up Peace & Love

Sending love to all those on the east coast. Nova Scotia recently suffered a horrendous act of violence. This article portrays what it was like to live in those small towns . A place where many of us have deep roots in our communities and surrounding areas. May we all take this time to be more loving and kind , as we don’t know who is suffering from loss back east. Even though we are residing in Vancouver Island, many of us East Coasters are suffering from the violence that happened Sunday . My heart goes out to you all, the people of Nova Scotia are in my heart through the days.

Hello all you amazing humans! I have been getting many messages, emails and calls regarding grooming. Currently I am not grooming , the nature of my work being in peoples homes feels irresponsible of me to continue during a time such as this. However when this passes I am going to be figuring out a way to catch up on all the clients appointments . It is hard track the unknown, so I ask once this passes to email, text and message to be put onto a list and I will do up a schedu...le to accommodate my clients. Peace and love to you all. Stay safe and strong And the plus side- you don’t need to brush your hair if you never leave the house! Missy See more

Here is why I will not be grooming until everything clears up. Because a lot of clients are in the high risk zone. I’m not going to be like Karen !