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Gendry had a lot of clients from the uppity neighborhoods. Some were nicer than others.
His favorite had to be the Starks. Catelyn and Ned were some of the most charming people he"s met. They had six pets in total, five of great pedigree and bloodlines. The last, Jon, was a mangy mutt that Ned found and brought home. Catelyn never seemed to like him but she brought him with the rest of them. In fact, there were a lot of times she"d call him halfway to their next appointment, complaining that he smelled and needed to get in immediately. He was one of the more mellow of the bunch. If they were ever to decide to get rid of him, Gendry would snatch him up in a heartbeat. Though he would cringe away from the woman when she dropped him off, he was a total sweetheart.
Robb always came in, walking perfectly next to his owner, sat still for grooming, never much of a fuss. He was a proud pet. Then there was Sansa, who loved to be groomed, she’d offer her hand to have her nails done, and would purr while you brushed her hair. You could tell when she got picked up by her owners how much she fed off the attention. Then there was Bran who had an unfortunate accident, causing paralysis in his back legs. He required a kind, steady hand and some extra maintenance. Then came Arya, unlike her sister, she hated to be groomed. There were many occasions where she’d come in and have to have her head shaved from the matting. Catelyn would be exasperated, saying she wouldn’t let her brush her at home and even when they did, she’d just got out and get snarled again. Finally little Rickon, there was a good pet in there somewhere but it was under a lot of crazy. He’d get so excited that sometimes he’d fling himself off the table mid groom, or lunge out of the tub. The resulting bruises made him anxious, Ned always shrugging it off but Catelyn threw a fit. The Starks tipped well and as far as clients went, they were some of the best.
The Baratheon’s on the other hand always made him groan. Tommen and Myrcella weren’t that bad, a little high maintenance but he could put up with them. Joffrey on the other hand was a terror, if you hit so much as a tangle, he’d throw a fit, turning around to bite and claw. Or sometimes he’d just bite and claw because he felt like it. At least they were taken care of at home. They were some of his pickiest clients, if so much as a hair was out of place, he’d have to redo it. They also tipped well, they just weren’t as grateful.
His least favorite of all of his clients to do was Reek. His name truly said it all. Reek came in always on a prong collar, walking next to his master fearfully, if he trembled any faster he would vibrate through the floor. Unlike the rest of the pets that got to run around while he worked on the others, Reek needed to either be leashed or kenneled at all times. Otherwise he flung himself over all of the gates and tried to get back to his master. If Ramsay was still there, he"d laugh and encourage the pet, much to the groomer"s annoyance. Gendry either had to drag him back by his collar or carry the screaming, thrashing pet.
For the bath, he had to put a loop around his waist as well as his neck to keep him in the tub. As soon as the water hit him, screaming and flailing commenced. Good thing he knew to take way too much ibuprofen beforehand and to wear earplugs. The water was always dark brown and he’d need at least 3 baths.
The scarring was absolutely horrific, the pet was clearly abused at home and Gendry had tried to report him multiple times but nothing came of it. Sometimes he wondered if that was for the best, the pet seemed so lost with out Ramsay. If a shelter ever had him, he"d be euthanized for sure. There were webbings of dark pink scars all over his body, from cuts and burns. There were full on pieces missing! An earlobe, a couple toes and fingers, and teeth. He did the best he could to keep the teeth left clean but with no maintenance in between grooms it was a painful and grueling process. There had been a time that a teeth had just fallen out. He didn"t even want to think about the smell, he"d found that a face mask and cough drops made it bearable.
Where most pets, he used high velocity dryers on, Reek would knock himself out from choking if he tried. So he got put in a kennel dryer with a fan on. The entire time, Reek would scream and claw at the kennel, wanting out. Gendry just covered his ears and wanted to cry.
Brushing out the thick matting was a pain in the ass and the hair was so thinned out from dematting that it would be better off shaved. But Ramsay threatened his life if he ever dared shave his pet. The only reason he brought him in was because his father made him. Cutting it so a few inches came off, he’d wait for Ramsay to pick Reek up. Where he’d jump the gate and Ramsay would coo at him. Usually resulting in the pet piddling all over the floor and making himself stinky again. Ramsay always complained about the price, never tipped and would bitch about how flowery Reek smelled. Because the piss and shit smell was so much better, Gendry waited until he was gone to roll his eyes. Thus was the job.