Basically Getting Paid to Pet Dogs // Ian & Nemo
It was Blazey, actually, that greeted Nemo at the front counter, all big doggy grin and white paw lifted in a ’wave’ hello when she popped up from the chair she had been laying on. As self-appointed greeter for Ruff to Fluff when Tucker wasn’t around yes, ears perked and tail lashing, she was just thrilled to see him.
It took Ian himself a moment to return from talking to a customer, giving Blazey’s ears a scratch as he ushered the excited dog out of the seat. “Hey Nemo,” he smiled, knowing that Nemo had been in and out the past few days learning the basics of working there, mostly from Greg, but Ian was the one there today. Which, happened often, yeah, but Ian liked his job and preferred to be there rather than home alone lately.
“Sorry, she thinks she runs the place,” he chuckled, watching Blazey worm her way over to Nemo to inspect him for interesting scents and possible petting. She was friendly to a fault, yes, which was fairly common for border collies, but she was also a very patient and good dog to help train new employees with. And…admittedly the fact that she was Ian’s support dog with his anxiety was the main reason he’d brought her to work with him the past few weeks, or the apartment, anywhere really.
Thankfully, Nemo being there meant he had plenty to do to ignore the itchy twinge of frayed nerves that kept nagging at him. And Nemo was easy to be comfortable around, the idea of him working there, rather than a stranger to adjust to, was actually a relief when Ian heard someone had been hired.
“So, how’s it been going getting used to things around here? Greg’s been showing you how to work with the smaller dogs, right?”
Ian did a quick check of the appointments for the day to make certain they were cleared the next few hours, before turning his attention back to Nemo. “Nobody scheduled until later this afternoon, so you want to see how inventory works? Or work with Blazey? She’s bigger than Tucker but we get a lot of dogs in her size.” He doubted the answer would be the former, Ian really seemed to be the only one working there who enjoyed keeping track of inventory and paperwork; but no surprise since the rest of the job was all fluffy dogs. Not much of a contest as to which was more appealing.
@justkeepdancing-nemo
.
Nemo had officially started working. Course-- he was really only working two shifts a week at this point since he had a lot going on, and he hadn’t figured out a way to, er, stop having a lot going on. Soon he’d have his fall dance classes and school instead of the play, plus his performance talent practice, and he needed to apply to unis this fall...
Yup, in true fast-flying fashion, Nemo was a whirl of activities and Ruff 2 Fluff got added to the pile.
But he was going to make it work! He didn’t want to let down Greg, or Appa, or any of the pups. So when Nemo arrived for his shifts, he tried to push everything else from his brain. His new grooming responsibilities helped. He never did anything like that before, so it took most of his concentration to practice the proper techniques and keep the animals nice and calm. As he got to know each client, Nemo cooed and stroked their sweet ears, and any of his frantic anxieties kinda...melted away.
So he really liked working. Ruff 2 Fluff was definitely the right place for him.
This shift would be one of the first without Greg around though, so Nemo was slightly more nervous, kinda like coming for a first day of work all over again. But as soon as Blazey careened toward him for a hullo, and he spotted Ian, Nemo realized there was nothing to worry about.
“Oh, I never worked with a bigger dog yet! I’d love to give Blazey a spa treatment.” Nemo grinned as he kneeled down and rubbed at Blazey’s cheek and the top of her head.
Blazey’s tail wagged away-- like most dogs, she liked Nemo right away. Perks to being a fairy!
“She’s so pretty already I don’t even know what she’d need, huh?” Nemo said mostly to Blazey.
