As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I hate to sound whiny, with all the serious problems people have, but...
I've been working at my grooming "shop" (at my vet's) this week, and I've only had a couple of dogs in, but that's not the problem. Today I had two big dogs. One was some weird mix of St. Bernard and Afghan, who laid down in the tub while I was bathing him and sat while I was trying to clip him. I kept having to hoist his 75-pound butt up and try to keep it up while I worked on him, and he was so dirty I had to shampoo him 3 times. But at least he was a nice dog.
The other was a 50-pound Chow and it was a nightmare. The "parents" warned me that he was difficult, all the techs at the vet's warned me he was bad, but stupid me, I said, "well, I'll try." I got him bathed, with a lot of barking and a few lunges trying to escape the tub, then got him blow-dried, again w/ a lot of barking, but no big deal. I gave him a break while I worked on the "big guy," then got started on clipping him. That's when everything went south. They wanted him shaved down, but he had these humongous mats all over that went all the way down to his skin. As soon as I hit the first one, behind his ear, he started to snap. I backed off til he calmed down, but when I went to touch him again, he bit me - really hard. He only got one finger, but omg, did it hurt! And it was deep, so it bled and swelled up, and I was really shaken. The techs were great - they put a muzzle on him and held him so I could more or less finish him, but it was so stressful for the dog and for me, and that is NOT what I want my grooming to be like.
He looked terrible - I couldn't do his face properly with the muzzle on, and it was so difficult to try to shave off those mats and not leave the dog bald. When the owner picked him up, he said it would've been fine to shave him bald, but that's not good for the dog. He did apologize for the dog biting me, then asked if I would be willing to do him again! I said I'd really have to think that over. (Translation - you don't have enough money to get me to go through that again. ) In addition to biting me, he pooped and peed non-stop (even though I walked him a couple of times in all of this), and the tub, the floor, and the four of us who touched him all ended up pooped and peed on.
I understand the techs needing to muzzle dogs when they have to give shots and draw blood, but that's not my style for grooming. They thought I should muzzle a yorkie I did this week, who absolutely did not need muzzling. He needed time and patience - and a second pair of hands to hold him still while I did his nails, but he wasn't a biter at all, and muzzling him would only have stressed him more about his nails. I had no trouble with him other than doing his nails, and he looked pretty cute when I was done with him. So I guess that's why I thought the Chow might be workable.
So now I'm exhausted, and in pain, and my confidence is completely shaken, and I feel kind of stupid for even trying to do this dog. I put on a brave face at work, and laughed it all off after getting over the initial shock, but I came home and cried - a lot. And on top of all that I have to get a tetanus shot tomorrow, and tomorrow is my birthday - one of those lousy, when-did-I-get-to-be-this-old birthdays, and DH is out of town til tomorrow night.
Okay, sorry for the poor-me routine, but you guys are always so nice about this kind of thing. I'm going to bed now, so I can be up bright and early for my birthday tetanus shot. Woohoo.
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Pat (a.k.a., PFlamingo) "We are the people our parents warned us about."
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Aww I'm really sorry to hear you had a bad day Pat. It really sounds like you are passionate about animals and about the way you want to do things.
I worked as a nurse's assistant for several years dealing specifically with people who had dementia and Alzheimer's. I was picked from several students because my teacher and the nurses said "I had what it takes." I learned that meant I was gentle, I took my time, and I knew how to handle scary situations.
I know in your heart you have this I can tell by reading your posts. I think as time goes by (like with any job) you are going to come across so many other situations that will test your ability and dedication. Stay true to yourself. Take the tests that have presented themselves to you and you will be a stronger, more experienced, and a more patient person.
I felt that other nurse's assistants (like the techs at your vets office) would warn me about certain patients lashing out. However, I chose to approach these people a little differently. I was kind and friendly to them and in all the time I worked there I could never see how some of these patients lived up to horror stories I heard. It's fine to tell them to back off a little and let you have your own stance.
I know some dogs love bath time while others don't and that I think you expect. Animals are much different from people so having accidents, barking, not being still, getting bit, etc is really some of the downsides of the job. ( I could never do it, I can hardly cut my son's hair with clippers.) Perhaps they will change once you get to know them. I would give the Chow another chance. Don't get down on yourself. You are a trooper for trying and I can tell you did the best by the way you described the events.
Hang in there. You have lots of other pups and owners to make happy.
Oh my dear, take a breath and know that you can only do so much. There are days when everything stinks and it makes you frustrated for your job. You did a great job and obviously the owner of Cujo knows that the dog is a pain and was happy with your work. You can totally do it.
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That's awful! The owners of the Chow are at fault here, not you and not the dog. THEY let that dog get matted so badly that it was hard for him to be groomed. THEY made it be painful for him. THEY obviously don't take him to a groomer often enough for him to be comfortable, both physically and mentally, while there.
YOU did nothing wrong. The dog needed muzzled. It's safer for you and it's safer for him for you not to be jumpy around him. My step-mother had a Cocker that had to be muzzled every time he went to the groomer. He was "fired" from 3 or 4 groomers before they found one that would deal with the dog. He was a sweetie the rest of the time, he just hated being groomed, and the technique of the groomer made no difference.
These are the days that will test your resolve and your mettle. Don't let them discourage you. You will be all the more confident and strong due to them.
You can only do so much with a dog that does not like to be groomed. It's hard for the owners too. I have a 9 lb Shih-tzu that is a handful to even attempt to groom. We are so afraid of taking an eye out one day trying to do his face. He knows the word "scissors" and snaps and such when you are trying to groom him. We used to take him out to be groomed, but we watched them have a hard time themselves and he would come home so traumatized, he would shake and mope for days. We are resigned now to just do what we can at home now, it is less stressful for everyone including the dog.
If you feel you can't do the dog again, then you shouldn't. Sometimes you just have to stand up for how you feel. You can't make yourself sick at work and at home over one dog.
Happy Birthday! I hope today is a brighter day for you! Nothing worse than having you confidence shaken like that. It really throws you off. Maybe you just had to get it all out of the way so today can be great!
What a day! But as we say around here when these things happen, "Today was a difficult day, tomorrow will be better." It's from a children's book called "Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse."
You should try to be proud of yourself for being brave enough to work with the chow. The poor animal. And poor you.
Not every day will be like this. I bet you'll have a few cuties that make the job worth it to you and you'll feel better, real soon. Hang in there! Those of us with doggies need good groomers like you!
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I said I'd really have to think that over. (Translation - you don't have enough money to get me to go through that again. 
) In addition to biting me, he pooped and peed non-stop (even though I walked him a couple of times in all of this), and the tub, the floor, and the four of us who touched him all ended up pooped and peed on.
And on top of all that I have to get a tetanus shot tomorrow, and tomorrow is my birthday - one of those lousy, when-did-I-get-to-be-this-old birthdays, and DH is out of town til tomorrow night. 
Woohoo.
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Hope you have a good day despite that tetanus shot!
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