Sleeping with Dora

“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door, the scream of fire engines, or the realization that today is the Monday which on Friday night was a comfortably long way off.  A dog's wet nose is not strictly speaking the worst of the bunch, but it has it's own peculiar dreadfulness which connoisseurs of the ghastly and dog owners everywhere have come to know and dread. It's like having a small piece of defrosting liver pressed lovingly against you.” - Terry Pratchet

Dora's humans are away so she is spending a week at our place.  It's meant some good long walks and lots of cuddles when we're at home.  It's also meant sleeping in the guest room.  Dora is a cute, if somewhat spoiled, little pup.  When she's in her own home, she sleeps in bed with her humans.  I know she needs this same comfort when she is staying here but I also know there is no way Merv is going to have a dog in his bed so Dora and I are exiled to the guest room.  Geraldine warned me before they left that Dora has been getting up around 2:30 A.M. for a foray outside.  Brian takes her.  I told Ger that wouldn't be happening in my house.  I have no interest in getting up to take her out in the middle of the night.  So I've been taking her out before we go to bed, around midnight.  The first night, she slept soundly until 7 o'clock.  But we had a bit less success last night.  It was sometime after 5 o'clock but still long before the sun rose that Dora licked my face and jumped off the bed.  I wasn't especially happy but I got up, put my coat on over my pajamas and headed outside.  Dora wanted to take a walk.  I wanted her to pee so I could go back to bed.  Neither of us got our wish.  I refused to walk her and she refused to pee on our lawn.  After a contest of wills, I gave up, brought her in and went back to bed.  But I was freezing, ticked off and wide awake by then so I found myself unable to go back to sleep.  I got up and made coffee.  Dora went back to bed.  An hour later, I got her up and took her out again to the lawn, again with my coat over my shorty pajamas.  She peed and ran back up the steps to the house, ate her breakfast, took her meds and went back to sleep.

The good news is that we're finally going to hit double digit temperatures today.  That will make the walking more enjoyable.  It was a beautiful morning yesterday but the sub-zero temperature was a bit hard to take.  I did see an absolutely beautiful woodpecker in the park, just a couple of feet from where we were walking.  Later in the morning, three deer ambled through the ravine behind our house.  I took those sightings as hopeful signs of spring.  In a little while, I'll slip my walking shoes on and Dora and I will head out to see what other signs we can see this morning.  Beautiful birds, budding trees and early spring flowers will all be worthy of admiration.