On pet ownership

The other day, I was cleaning the guest bathroom.  Every time I'm in that bathroom, there is this nasty smell that drives me crazy...mostly because I can't figure out the source.  And also, it confuses me, because we really don't use that bathroom.  I mean, I do my hair and makeup in there every morning, but I don't think that those activities should produce this shit smell.

After a careful inspection of the bathroom, I found the source.  It was the bath mat.  Before Matt and I got married, we registered for wooden bath mats from Crate and Barrel.  We were SO excited to register for them - in our old apartment in Virginia, Oscar made a habit of curling up and sleeping on the bath mat whenever either of us would shower.  The mat got all...you know, hairy.  No matter how much or how often I washed the mat, it would be covered with dog hair a second later.  

Then, one special day, the day we registered, we saw the wooden bath mats.  It seemed like a dream come true!  We immediately registered for two, and so far, so good.  

But anyway, back to the present.  And back to Oscar.  Oscar has kind of a weak stomach.  He throws up regularly - a few times a week.  Luckily for us, he is considerate enough to get up, trot over to a tiled area (namely our entryway or our guest bathroom) and do his business there.  Then, we grab a pile of paper towels and some cleaner and take care of the mess.

So.  The bath mat.  It stunk.  Kind of like...shit.  But also like...perhaps...old dog throw-up?  I'm sorry, this is gross.  But when I looked closer, it looked like there was possibly old dog vomit in between the cracks of our bath mat.  I know.  Ew.  I immediately grabbed the mat and took it outside to our apartment's "car wash station," otherwise known as a parking spot with a hose.  

For a good 25 minutes, I stood out there and with my fingers cleaned out all the little cracks and openings that had, you know, nasty in them.  It was gross.  Really, really gross.  

I walked back to the apartment and laid it out on the porch to dry.  Hours later, satisfied it was dry, I put it back in the bathroom for our guests.

And guess what?  I was in there this morning.  The bath mat smells like shit.