Wet dog fun

This morning Charles and I decided to give Nigel a bath. It's been many, many months since this last occurred and during last weeks snowstorm, with Nigel playing out in it, we realized he was far from his natural white color!  We called him 'buff'!
Nigel HATES baths. Which is hard to understand because, walk by a lake or along a river bank, and he launches himself with the utmost excitement into the depths and will happily play there for hours. There's a whole prep list to be worked through sereptitiously before the lathering can begin. Being a small dog we can bathe him in our kitchen sink. First we have to remove all dishes, the dish drainer and any item on the counter around the area. We have to make sure we have towels and the dog shampoo to hand. Despite this being a totally irregular occurence, using his uncanny dog-knowing, Nigel often can tell what we are preparing for so, if he wanders into the kitchen, we commence whistling and do something else, something more normal like emptying the dishwasher or drinking a swig of milk from the milk carton, closing the fridge and going to sit with the newspaper on the couch.

Eventually we make our move, grab him and deposit him in the sink. We have gotten very adept and swift at bathing him because it is heartbreaking to watch and listen to. He cries and whines and shakes violently the whole time he is in the bathing process. . . it's so pitiful, it's kinda funny! But within 6 or 7 minutes it's all over and he is wrapped in the biggest and fluffiest of towels, is being hand-fed liver treats and coddled like a prince. The funniest part is once he extricates himself from said towel. He will crouch low and slide his face along the carpet, first the right side, then the left, over and over and over again! It is almost manic behavior and he continues in this crazy manner, no matter what we do to get him to calm down. I guess it's a natural canine action but I've never asked anyone else if their dog does it.
Anyway, the Big Bath Day is over for another few months, barring an encounter with a skunk or the discovery of something dead that smells just too good not to roll in. Nigel, for one, is glad it's over - all that excitement is just too much and he is asleep in front of the fire . . .