There's No Accounting For Taste

Bunny here, enjoying possession of the couch while I write my lastest entry.

I am perplexed by something here at our house.  Since Morgan came home, the crate has been set up in the living room again.  It used to be set up in here before Hawk passed away, because he had to stay in there during the day while Mom and Dad were gone, but after he left us, they took the crate down and gave us some more space here in the living room. 

When I first came home, I had to spend my days in the crate until I proved that I would go potty outside and that I could get along with the other hounds here.  That didn't take me too long, and once I got out of that crate, I never looked back!  I much prefer the couch or the dog bed, thank you very much!

While Mom and Dad are making sure everyone can get along, Morgan goes in her crate when they have to leave the house.  Except, half the time, she can't get in there.  You might be scratching your head or behind your ear and wondering why.  Well, it's because Lilac and Blueberry keep taking over the crate!  I've never seen anything like it.  As soon as they can, they all keep sneaking in that crate to sleep.  Has the world gone mad?  I don't see why any dog would want to sleep in there when there's a perfectly good couch sitting right in front of the television and sunshine spot from the window.

Here's what I have to say about that.  They can all play musical dog crates!  I will be over here snoozing on the couch like the companion to royalty that I was born to be.

Wordless Wednesday 5/26 -- How Much Room Does A Greyhound Need?

Wordless Wednesday 12/16 -- Visions of Sugarplums or Dogbiscuits

One Dog Afternoon

Perhaps there's more of a chill in the air lately.  Maybe the dog beds are starting to go flat.  Then again, it's possible that greyhounds really do pick up our emotions and feel loss more deeply than we sometimes give them credit for. 

Hawk's passing was the second time that we've experienced a loss as adult dog owners.  I lost childhood many animals in childhood as I grew up on a farm.  My husband lost his share of childhood pets as well.  When Treat was here, she was always on the couch with me.  Heaven forbid that the princess should ever lay on the floor.  After she passed away, Blueberry suddenly, very quietly placed herself in that spot on the couch.  She wasn't always touching me or near me, she could be content to hold the other end of the couch down while I sat in my spot on the other end, and even allowed me the space to stretch out my legs.  Hawk always viewed himself as my protector, but Blueberry seemed to sense that she had a role to play in my well-being, too.  As I reflect back on that time, I can recount a lot of things Blueberry began to do to try to watch out for me in her own way.  When Bunny arrived, who turned out to be very fond of snuggling, Blueberry sort of relinquished that spot, content that Bunny would fill in her own little niche.  Blue had also taken to sleeping on the bed at that time, but she seemed happy to go back to her fluffy bed on the floor when Bunny wanted to sleep on the bed.  Life went on and Blueberry seemed to decide that she'd go back to being my husband's girl.

Last week, I brought Hawk's ashes home.  It was a bit harder than I thought it would be. I am happy to have him home, where he belongs next to Treat, but it also made it final in a way that it was not before I picked up that box.  It's hard to believe that the life he led is reduced to such a light box of ashes and I admit that I have been thinking that over to a degree in quieter moments.

It was also when Bunny discovered that with Hawk not here, there's a big spot next to my husband on the floor under the quilt waiting for a hound.  She's like an addict when a quilt comes out.  She can't rest unless she's under the quilt.  I couldn't even bribe her to sit with me on the couch.  I admit, I was a little hurt by her defection.  My husband pointed out that she was just after the quilt, so I got my own quilt out, but still no snuggle puppy. 

Last night when I went to get in bed, I was surprised to find Blueberry curled up by my pillow.  I got in bed, and ran my fingers through her fur.  She has the softest fur of any greyhound I've ever met, and that's not just me being biased, people comment on it whenever they meet her, and it felt so nice to just touch her while I drifted off to sleep.  Usually, when she does get in our bed, she leaves when we come to bed, or just after we get all settled.  Last night was different, though.  She was still asleep with her butt on my pillow when I woke up this morning to Lilac's reveille, which was a nice surprise. 

This afternoon, she decided that I needed her companionship on the couch.  I know that she normally prefers to sleep on a dog bed where nobody will touch her, but on occasion, she does get on the couch, usually at the far end.  Today, though, it was her curled up against me, while my fingers sifted through that incredibly soft fur of hers.  She has the gift of being able to just be with you and make you feel more centered and content.  It was a nice afternoon spent with her beside me and then, after a while, she got up and left as if some signal had been sent.  No sooner did she get up and head off then Bunny was up on the couch beside me, curled up around my leg and making sure I knew she was here to snuggle.  Perhaps Blueberry knows a secret about Bunny that I don't, or perhaps she's just more perceptive than she usually lets us see. 

The saying that there's no better therapist in the world than a puppy is very true.  As life goes on this week, I find myself very thankful that I have three therapists who all tend to me in their own ways.  It's nice to be able to just reflect on the couch with a blanket and a dog.

One Of Life's Little Mysteries...

How does a little greyhound who tips the scales at fifty pounds manage to take up practically all of the couch?  I've tried to figure out how it happens and yet every night, I'm still baffled as to how I wound up on one tiny corner of the couch with a cramp in my leg.  I can share the couch with Blueberry and manage to stretch out and be comfortable all night, but Bunny gets up and things slowly take a turn.

It starts out so innocently. I sit down on the couch and begin to work on the computer.  Bunny hops up on the couch, walks over, sniffs me, wags her tail and then goes to the other end of the couch and lays down.  That's harmless enough.  After a while, I notice that she's turned around and now rests her head on my ankle, somehow managing to dig her little chin into my shin bone.  Her head seems to get very heavy at this point.  Honestly, I don't know how she manages to hold it up on that delicate neck of hers.  A little later, I start to feel a chill, so I reach up for my quilt on the back of the couch and notice that I can't move my leg.

Somehow, Bunny has managed to wrap her paw around my leg and her head is resting on my lap.  I spread the quilt over both of us and go back to what I was doing.  Later, I notice that my leg is getting numb, so I shift a little, trying not to disturb the little princess, carefully sliding out from beneath her while I wonder how such a little dog became so heavy.  Soon I start to notice that my legs are falling off the couch and Bunny is stretched out quite comfortably.  The next thing I know, I'm curled up in one corner of the couch while Bunny sleeps like a log, a very spread out and comfortable log, I might add.  She's lucky she's cute when she's sleeping!  Otherwise, I wouldn't let her take over the couch like that.  That's what I tell myself, anyway.

A Princess Needs A Throne

Bunny is generally the sweetest little hound there is. She is happy to greet us at the back door and lives to snuggle with us and be petted. There is a scenario that is replaying itself with greater and greater frequency however.

Bunny seems to feel that the couch belongs to her and me exclusively. However, when we are gone, Blueberry claims the couch as her own and there's nothing that Bunny can do about it. When I get home, I have my spot on the couch and often Blueberry takes the other end of the couch. While we are gone, Bunny won't push her luck, but when I am home, she jumps up in the middle, curling up against me and usually wrapping her neck around my leg in some fashion. Blueberry tolerates this arrangement when we are here, but I suspect that she tells Bunny in no uncertain terms that it's not happening when we are gone.

The new routine is that I am home with the dogs in the afternoon. Hawk is stretched out on the orthopedic dog bed, resting his weary bones. Lilac is curled up comfortably in her little nest. Blueberry is taking up as much space as she possibly can at the other end of the couch while I type on the computer at the other end. Bunny is curled up in a tiny knot between us, holding on to my leg and occasionally demanding that I stroke her head. This is all good until my husband comes home.


The dogs all leap up and run to the back door to greet him. This never fails. My husband is the Pied Piper of Dogdom and I've never seen a dog anywhere who could resist him. After a few minutes, the fanfare is over and the dogs begin to return to their respective spaces. My husband walks into the living room and sits on the other end of the couch, and that's when the fun starts.

Often, we begin to have dinner at this time, and he is sitting there, leaning forward to eat his food from the coffee table. Blueberry finds a bed and lays down to sleep on the floor with Hawk and Lilac. Bunny stands in front of my husband indignantly. My husband pretends not to notice. Bunny huffs while we begin to talk about our day. He'll sit up slightly and Bunny takes this opportunity to stand in front of him, letting it be known that she's trying to get by him to the couch.

Husband: Oh, Bunny, there you are! Did you want something?

Bunny: I've spent over a year training you and you can't figure it out?

Husband: Need a little scratch?

Bunny: (meaningful stare)

Husband: Oh! Did you want up?

At this point, he pushes the table away a little bit. Bunny then leaps up over him to the empty space between us on the couch. She turns once and then sits, leaning her back against the cushion and looks at him. Husband leans forward to get something from the table and Bunny slips in behind him, giving a sigh and kicking him in the back. My husband laughs and then stands up and moves to the chair. Bunny lays down contentedly, finally relaxed with the knowledge that she has kicked everyone off the couch. She rests her head against the armrest and watches everyone else for a little while, before dozing off for her evening nap.

Tonight, she scored quite a coup. She got to her spot in the middle and Blueberry got up and left. Bunny thinks that she kicked Blueberry off the couch, but I don't have the heart to tell her that Blue was really just going to get a drink of water. I'm not sure who will win the battle. We'll have to stay tuned for the next episode of Days of Our Couch.