Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the thirteenth day of the month is "Failure."
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Bad news around our town recently. The local car wash that has been in business as long as I've been alive is closing - the last day is today. There are a lot of car wash places around, I guess, but the reason I'm so sad about this one is because it's the only one in town with a dog wash. You've seen photos of Hannah there before and it's been quite crucial because we don't have a good setup for bathing her at home during the cold months.
In the summer, we can just take her outside with a hose and all is well. But when it gets cold, that's not an option. We don't have a bathtub in the main floor bathroom. We could probably wash her in the basement, but she won't go down the stairs and I'm not comfortable dragging her down there!
(I don't know how she gets stinky during the winter, but she does. I don't know. Maybe she's rolling around in repulsive snow? No one knows.)
There is a self-serve dog wash in the next town over. It's actually a bit less expensive since you can get a punch card for 5 washes that costs $40, which works out to $8/wash and this one is $10. If you don't get the punch card, it's $14 for a single wash, which seems steep, but I'm certain we'd just go for the punch card because this dog is a stink bomb. All is not lost! But it is not nearly as convenient for us.
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Is there a beloved business that you love that has closed recently?
That's an unanticipated problem of doggership.
ReplyDeleteWe really didn't think this through. I mean, we did, but we assumed the dog would go into the basement. Silly us.
DeleteThat is a bummer; do you know why they are closing? You mentioned that there are a lot of other carwashes, you think it is just too much supply?
ReplyDeleteWe are having a rash of businesses close, mostly restaurants, but the other day I noticed in my small commercial district near my house that the bank closed and two other buildings (I think one was a cell phone store and one was a restaurant) have For Sale signs outside! I know that in San Francisco a lot of people moved out during the pandemic, and now there is a homeless/vagrant/theft issue and a lot of the big retailers (Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Apple) are moving out. Additionally, the average vacancy rate of office buildings has jumped from ~ 5% to over 30%.
I don't actually understand why they're closing. They were always busy, as far as I could see. Maybe the owners are retiring and there's no one to take over? I don't know. It's sad. There are a few other automated car washes in town, but no others where they wash the car and detail it for you. It's quite sad, actually.
DeleteOh, that's too bad! I don't personally bathe Rex, he's too big for one thing, and he needs to be groomed for another. I didn't bathe Barkley either BUT I did have a no-rinse shampoo thing that I used sometimes because he had a bad habit of rolling in something gross.
ReplyDeleteOh, maybe I just need that no-rinse shampoo for Hannah. She does like to roll in things that smell quite unappetizing to me as a human!
DeleteIt is so frustrating when a beloved business shuts down; we had a game/toy shop in town that I KNEW wasn't going to make it long-term, but it was an incredible shop and I do miss having a go-to place for birthday and Christmas presents...
ReplyDeleteYes, our local florist closed shop around this time last year and it made me so sad. I didn't go there all the time, but I did go at least a few times a year and it was great to know I could go there to get good quality gifts and flowers.
DeleteWell... I can't really call this a "local" business but I'm still mourning the loss of Pier 1. Seriously, all my nicest things came from that store! My favorite mugs, my pumpkin bowls, and tons of Christmas stuff. SIGH.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you at least have another option for bathing Hannah! I didn't even know dog washes existed until I read about it on your blog.
I agree 100% on how deeply sad it was that Pier 1 closed! It was my one-stop Christmas present buying place. What a loss for the world. Do you have a World Market near you? It has a similar vibe, so maybe you can find a new beloved place.
DeleteThat's too bad. There are a ton of carwash places around here, but none of them has a dogwash that I am aware of. It's too bad because our town is quite Doggified. There is a mobile dogwash van (Bubbles-n-Biscuits) that comes to our neighborhood for the resident St. Bernard.
ReplyDeleteThere was an ice cream shop that closed when the block was cleared to make way for a Walgreens. It was wonderful. I always got their frozen yogurt fruit bowl which had fresh-cut fruit in it, the kind you'd see in a summery fruit salad--melon, pineapple, berries, grapes. I think about that shop every single summer.
My friends in some larger areas (not really big cities, but larger areas that us) have been talking about the car wash boom. We haven't had it yet, but I hope we do get one and they build a self-service dog wash station in at least one of them in our town!
DeleteOh, if our ice cream place goes out of business, I think everyone would revolt and the city would somehow save it. LOL.
She looks so cute in her Big Old Bathtub! Lucky for me, I toss (not literally) these little munchkins in the sink in my laundry room; fairly easy, but would be easier if they weren't afraid the water freaks. 😳
ReplyDeleteWe have such a turnover in our town, that sometimes I don't notice something is closed until I see the Brand New Place opening. :(
Hannah is not a fan of baths, either. *sigh* I sort of wish I had a water loving dog!
DeleteOur town has so few businesses that each and every one is a topic of conversation if they so much as change their hours! If there was a lot of turnover, I don't know how we would convince someone to start a small business here.
We have lots of dog washes, but it would be a bit of a drive with a stinky passenger LOL
ReplyDeleteI never considered the downside of having a big dog was that we couldn't just put her in a sink. I wish I could just shrink her down for baths and then have her go back to her normal size!
DeleteOh that's a bummer. I hate when business close that you frequented... I mean, I don't understand the reasons for its closure, but if it's a place you went to regularly, you probably wonder why it went out of business or if other people weren't using it. I did not know though that car wash places had dog wash places as well. You always learn something new. I am glad you still have other options near by, if not quite as convenient.
ReplyDeleteI did not know these self-serve dog washes were a thing until I had a dog, either. Why would you know something like that? It is useful, though, if you have a stinky dog.
DeleteDoes Hannah do ok with showers? Our Huck is our tiny and stinky one--she must sweat a lot or something!
ReplyDeleteThere was a Vietnamese-New Orleans fusion restaurant near us that closed down recently. We really miss it because it was such an unusual and tasty mashup!
Hannah does NOT do okay with showers. She even refuses to go outside if it's raining and a drop might fall in her precious eyes. LOL. She hates water of all sorts, really.
DeleteOh, interesting mashup of cuisines. Too bad it's no longer there. :(