Pamela Harris

Gingerpuss May 6, 2014

Ginger did her usual at 6 a.m., i.e. whining in her bed for a pet on the head. She's not allowed on the furniture so we put her bed right next to ours and if I reach over and scratch her head she curls right up and chews on something. She's lazy when she wakes up and needs a push to get going before we can get her collar on and get her down the stairs. This morning Joe got up and walked down the hall, through the living room and into the kitchen, but she wouldn't follow him in. She sat on her bed looking at me, willing me up so all of us could to head to the kitchen. As a pack.

I rolled away from her stare, not wanting to budge. I could feel her beady eyes on the back of my head and she knew it; she attacked her bed and the carpet, knowing one of us would tell her to knock it off. Joe came in to do that and she happily followed him into the kitchen, now that she had gotten attention.

I rolled back over and looked down the hall into the living room, which is my favorite view in the apartment: a modern pink and brown runner gives way to gray and lavender and lucite and muted beige and pink. The walls are Cream Silk, technically white, but as the light moves around the room the walls change from soft white to cream to a light yellow that makes the whole room glow.

It's so calming to look at I started drifting off, then I saw Ginger bolt through the living room with Joe behind her. Seconds later she bolted the other way with him at her heels. I closed my eyes and suddenly heard a pit bull at a full gallop barreling toward me. An instant later I felt paws and a wet nose on my head—Ginger had leapt into bed. She was scrambling for Joe's side of it just as he tackled her.

The no furniture rule is one I reluctantly adhere to because Joe feels adamant about it. I loved Ginger diving in next to me, though she is getting big. It'd be tough to sleep with her snoring and digging and stretching and grunting and dreaming and kicking the way she does. I work on Joe to let her on the couch -- he hasn't budged an inch but neither have I in my desire -- but it's probably okay that she sleeps in her own bed. At the dog parks the conversation sometimes roams to who lets their dog sleep in their bed and who doesn't and anyone with a dog over thirty pounds almost always wishes they hadn't started letting the dog have free reign. Not because their dog wants to now drive the car or play Candyland, but dogs have no boundaries. If the dog wants to sleep on your head or give you a face full of ass, s/he's going to whether you're there or not. Any thoughts on this? Where does your dog sleep?



Comments

We have 3 dogs, 2 small dogs which are my twins' dogs, who do sleep with them in their beds; and my golden retriever, a large dog that either sleeps on the floor next to me, or on the cool, marble floor in the bathroom when it gets too hot and humid. This is Miami. I myself agree with Joe that dogs should not sleep in the bed with you. Eventually they do exactly what you describe, sleep next to your head, and arouse you from a wonderfully deep sleep. When that happens just once, you realize once and for all that dogs should not be in the bed, nor any other furniture in the house.

Paul Murphy | May 12, 2014 at 01:32 am

I love the dog pictures! I often wish we could try having a dog again but my husband says no. Practically, he's absolutely correct so I don't even argue with him.

Both of our dogs used to jump up on the sofa as well as the bed. Somehow though, they both seemed to know to get into their own bed to go to sleep. I think they were more comfortable there since I was the one tossing and turning!

Give Ginger a hug and a kiss for me please. I miss my furry friends.

xo
Beth

Beth Rooks | May 6, 2014 at 06:42 pm

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