Merlin's New Haircut

Merlin got a new haircut tonight. When we got him from the shelter back in 2004, he had been shaved. I was appalled, because he has such beautiful hair, but later I figured out why they'd shaved him. His hair is thick and cottony, and tangles very easily. Ideally, he's supposed to be brushed daily, but he HATES it. As a result, his long hair stays knotted up and uncomfortable for him. The only option is to cut it short twice a year. We used to send him to the vet for this, but because of his temperament, he has to be sedated, causing his visits to be quite pricey. Also, even though the groomer at my vet's office is very professional, and good at her job, I just sometimes worry (probably unreasonably) about so much sedation. We decided last year to do his hair ourselves.
Knowing how he is, we went to Home Depot and bought a pair of long leather gloves, the kind welders wear. Hair clippers for pets can be bought, fairly inexpensively, just about anywhere. That first haircut we gave him was terrible, but we were so proud of it. His hair grows so fast that in no time it looked just fine. Since then, I've learned that getting his hair perfectly even isn't going to happen, but if I consentrate on making him look uniform it works better. It doesn't take as long, and is therefore less stressful for him....and us.