Amanda Goes ... to the dogs

I am in love.

The object of my affection is sweet, cute, and always open to a little cuddle. His name is Bobby and, judging from the way he was gazing in my eyes at our brief encounter, I'm pretty sure he digs me, too.

But don't worry. I won't be running away with Bobby anytime soon. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work out, and not just because I'm married. Bobby, you see, is a cocker spaniel. And, like me, he belongs to someone else.

My introduction to Bobby was set in motion last month, when I was contacted by Stephen Fung, a groomer with mobile dog grooming chain Aussie Pet Mobile.

The chain, with 115 franchisees in the United States alone, was started in Australia in 1996, and moved its headquarters to California in 1999. The appeal of this and other mobile pet-grooming operations is that they let owners avoid dragging reluctant animals to a vet or groomer, allowing the pooch to get gussied up inside a van parked right outside his or her home.

Fung wanted to know if I'd like to spend some time with him and his canine customers, learning the ins and outs of dog grooming. This was a no-brainer, as I've always been a dog person.

Throughout high school and college, I had a Brittany spaniel named Roxy, to whom I was intensely devoted. Sure, she ate at least three pairs of my shoes and once got so agitated by a Fourth of July fireworks display that she clawed a hole through one of our walls, but I loved her anyway.

I don't have enough

time and space for a dog now, but I always make a huge fuss over other people's pooches. I figured dog grooming would be a way to spend some quality time with my beloved four-legged friends.

Fung typically grooms seven to 10 dogs a day, offering a full range of services, from bathing and fur trimming to ear cleaning and tooth brushing. He started working for Aussie about two years ago as a part-time groomer and full-time dispatcher and manager. His background is in accounting and information technology, and he hasn't owned a dog since he was in college. But he was drawn to Aussie because of the flexible hours, and has come to love his work.

I met up with Fung outside the home of a Westport client who owns two dogs, Oscar and Bobby. When I arrived, Fung was in the midst of blow-drying Oscar, a black cocker spaniel who is about 8 years old. Oscar was standing on a table in the dog-grooming van, secured by a little harness so he wouldn't move around too much. Not that Fung needed to worry. Oscar was maybe the best-behaved dog I've ever seen, just standing there quietly -- if a bit forlornly -- as Fung dried him with an instrument that looked a great deal like a leaf blower.

Fung was willing to put me to work right way, and offered to let me finish drying Oscar. As soon as I started using it, I realized that the blow dryer didn't just look like a leaf blower. For all intents and purposes, it was a leaf blower, with a powerful windstorm channeled inside. At one point, I mis-aimed the contraption slightly, and it almost blew the towel covering the table clean off.

Yet none of this seemed to bother Oscar. Through it all, he just stood calmly, not making so much as a peep. Awww. Who's a good doggie?

hen Oscar was good and dry, it was time to give him a haircut. Fung took out a set of clippers, and explained the best way to administer a canine haircut. Follow the contours of the dog's body as closely as you can, he advised -- you should be able to feel the animal's body under your blade as you shave. He demonstrated, ably moving the clippers over the willing pooch.

He then asked if I wanted to try my hand at cutting Oscar's hair. I gulped and told Fung that wasn't a good idea. "It's fine," he said. "You won't cut him." He explained that, though I'd be able to feel the dog's body under the clippers, the blade would never touch his skin. I told Fung that hurting the dog was only one of my fears.

"I could still render him ugly," I pointed out.

Fung assured me it would be fine. Only partially convinced, I took the clippers in my hand and began to trim. Actually, Fung was right. My haircut wasn't great, but it wasn't that hard to manage, and it didn't seem to hurt the dog at all. However, I didn't want to press my luck and quickly handed the clippers back to Fung.

After a thorough trimming, Oscar was good to go. Fung returned him to his owner, and went to pick up the family's other dog, Bobby. Bobby was only about a year old, and considerably friskier than Oscar. He was light-colored, sort of beige, but had the same, adorable, sad-eyed cocker spaniel face as Oscar.

Bobby wasn't thrilled about getting groomed, and Fung practically had to drag him into the van. Yet despite his reluctance, Bobby was still pretty good. He only whimpered slightly, and didn't bark or try to escape. Soon, Fung started the grooming process. I'd missed the early stages of his primping session with Oscar, which apparently included tooth-brushing and ear-cleaning.

OK, I love dogs but I wasn't sure how I felt about scouring a canine's canines or scooping the gunk out of his ears. I mean, ew.

As with the hair-cutting, Fung talked me through these tasks, starting with the tooth-brushing. Tooth-brushing actually wasn't that hard, even though it involves sticking a toothbrush into a dog's dirty mouth.

But Bobby's teeth were pretty clean already, so it was less nasty than it could have been. And Bobby continued to behave well. Doggie toothpaste, incidentally, is meat-flavored, which probably explains why the pooch didn't mind. Then came the ear-cleaning. This, too, was both more straightforward and less disgusting than I imagined, involving simply swabbing out Bobby's ears with a cotton ball.

Throughout all of this, Bobby couldn't have been more pleasant -- and so affectionate. He loved getting petted and hugged, and, more than once while I was cooing over him, he stuck his nose right up to mine for a quick nuzzle. How cute is that?

Soon, it was time to give Bobby a bath. Fung opted to let me do the honors. We loaded Bobby into the van's washtub, and I began to wet him down and apply tearless shampoo. Once Bobby was all lathered up, I began to rub in the shampoo, running my fingers through Bobby's fur, rubbing and scratching. Bobby seemed to love this. Fung said dogs do usually enjoy getting washed. It's kind like puppy massage, he explained.

When Bobby was all scrubbed up, I rinsed him off and toweled him down. Then, it was time to bust out the leaf blower, er, blow dryer. Bobby was not a fan. I started his blow-dry while he was still in the tub, and he kept scampering around the basin, trying to avoid the big mean machine shooting air at him. Fung soon moved Bobby to the table, so I could finish drying him, but Bobby seemed distinctly displeased with the whole process.

Finally, Bobby got dry, and it was time for Fung to clip him. Given my phobia about trimming the dogs, I decided to bid Bobby adieu, and leave Fung to his work. It was sad to leave Bobby's sweet little face behind, knowing I'd probably never see him again. But I will never forget him and the time we spent together.

And I hope he forgives me for the blow-dry.

Mobile dog grooming with Aussie Pet Mobile costs $65 and above, depending on the dog. The company is looking for groomers, experienced and not. For an appointment or information, visit http://yourlocal.aussiepetmobile.com/fairfield-county, or call

1-800-PET-MOBILE.