Pooch Boutique
By Richard Williams, 3/18/09
Okay, I heard the term that says, “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” and I suppose you have heard it too. What bothers me is the fact that I actually have to apply aphorisms like that to my own life at times. So here I will state the problem and the solution to it. First off, let us take a look at the problem down below here.
Born December 5th 2008; breed is “Yorkshire Terrible Terrier;” weighs in at 3.4 pounds (1.5422 Kilograms) and has terrorized our once peaceful house. Furthermore, she is too fast to catch, hops like a rabbit, chews everything within her reach and has a face to love. A little girl we call Ashley. We got her on Ash Wednesday after my wife went out shopping around on her own to find what she wanted. She didn’t want me along with her, because I would have a zoo if she didn’t stop me. When she found what she wanted to replace our poodle that died last November from old age, she then told me what she had been up to. Yes, I did shut down this computer and go with her to the puppy store. I told her before we got there that it was already a done deal if I saw a puppy and I hoped she knew that. She smiled and of course she already knew that.
Maybe, terrorizing our household is too strong a term but I have had many dogs over the years that were spoiled rotten living with us, but this breed of Yorkshire Terrier, is the feistiest of any of them that we have ever had the pleasure to have bite our feet. Ouch! It is a good thing Ashley doesn’t climb because our parrot Lexie would be really stressed out.
The other day I ran from the computer room to stop the angry barking I heard from both of them. What a nonstop session they had going. Yes, Lexie learned to bark from our other dog Nallie that died. She taught Ashley how to bark because she didn’t do it until she heard Lexie do it. Could it be? She is very fast or I am very slow now and catching her is an ordeal. This little girl we knick named “Terrier the Terrible” for now, until she learns the rules of the house or we learn hers. J Mischievous is the look down below here.
Well anyway, back to the problem at hand. Being such a spirited little girl she is hard to hold onto and when it is bath time, the combing and grooming is a torture for us. Do you believe it takes two of us to work on a 3.4 pound pooch? We have always given our pets regular groomings and a bath is something that the parrot Lexie really loves and even asks us for one. I’m not kidding. But blow drying is essential for parrots, so they do not get a chill or cold draft until they are completely dry. Most of them will spread their wings to help the warm air circulate around their “drowned rat” body appearance after a bath. No, I use a towel before you ask. Ashley has not yet gotten used to this warm air blow drying experience and one of us has to hold her while the other one tries to comb her fine silky hair or trims her facial hair. To wash and groom Terrier the Terrible, you need more hands than an octopus. She might be just a baby but I’m not kidding when I tell you that the bare minimum is four hands and twenty fingers.
Now before you think that this is going to be a pet article of some kind, I will let you know how I managed to cut down on the number of arms, hands and fingers needed to perform this wash and groom project we have to perform. At least so I don’t have to be a part of it that is. J I turned to my SolidWorks program for inspiration and conceptualization and I sort of reinvented the wheel a bit here. I know they sell these devices but just where do you go to buy one and how fast can you get one? Faster than Terrier the Terrible?
So in about two hours time after getting the idea and taking some measurements of Terrible and our hand blow dryer I came up with this configuration down below. I had most everything already except one fitting which was the top end cap. But my favorite store is close by to me. Maybe you have heard of it, it is called Home Deposit. J So here it is folks.
“Pictures are worth a thousand words” and I think I have given you enough of them for you to get the idea. According to my wife it works fabulously, so I got one “atta boy” and now spend more of my time in the computer room again. Lexie thinks it is a perch and it will take a little getting used to for her to stay under it rather than on top of it. J.
This is all 2” PVC Schedule 40 plumbing pipe. The only things glued in place are the top end cap on the vertical piece and the 2” Tees to the small horizontal nipple. The threaded 2 inch base flange has a 2 inch male PVC threaded adapter in it that holds up the vertical piece. I did not glue it just in case it might have to be rotated a little for her. So, our little Terrier the Terrible caused me to lose some valuable time away from writing and my computer work but I think it was worth it. She can fall asleep lying on top of you and looks like an angle when she is sleeping, which is the opposite of when she is awake. J That is a 2 x 10 wood base that is 24 inches long. The horizontal 2” PVC nipple was made 12 inches.
The 2” tee that mounts to the 2” vertical piece was made to slide easily up and down with a dowel used in the four 3/8” adjustment holes. Immobilize the tee in a vise (only one this needs to be done on) and use a hole saw and arbor in a pistol drill with a half inch chuck. The hole saw must fit tightly inside the tee inside diameter and measures 2 3/8 inch or 60 mm outside diameter of the cutter. The real trick here is to keep the drill in reverse, as you push it into the opposing tee holes. This must be stressed here because if you are in the clockwise direction the teeth will engage the plastic and jam which will pull the drill motor out of your hands and you could get hurt. After doing both ends you can smooth it out on the inside with a half round file to remove any burrs. Well happy grooming to you all.
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