Sammy Story 18: Sleeping Arrangements

Bedtime.

After Sammy got used to us more, and we had fewer peeing accidents in the morning, I began to leave his kennel door open. I wanted him to be able to sleep in the plush bed we put out for him between the kennel and my bed if he wanted. He quickly learned he could come out after we were asleep, and curl up in the bed closer to mom. He would go back and forth between, and after a while, didn’t go into the kennel at all. He’d found a new safe-place, and it wasn’t behind bars!

Then he found his very own way of communicating. Most dogs whine or bark when they want to get their owner’s attention. Not Sammy. Instead of doing either of those, he started shaking his head. The jingle and tinkle of his dog tags would wake me up. Usually this was around four or five o’clock in the morning! Half-asleep, I would stumble down to the door and let him out.

I had enough of that, fairly quickly. I didn’t want any accidents, but I didn’t want a middle of the night routine every night either. So, I did what I had determined I wasn’t going to do. When he woke me with his tinkles, I’d snap my fingers, slap the bed and invite him up.

Well. He liked that idea just fine. The only problem was, we had a bed that was very high. Even I have to get in by using a step-stool. (No jokes, please.) Sammy would try to leap up onto the bed, but he would fall off, so I had to turn the light on and show him where the stool was. He quickly mastered the feat. Then I had to break him of relying on me turning on the light! That took a little bit of effort. I’d call him, and he’d shake his head, waiting for the light. When I didn’t oblige, he’d shake his head more vigorously. I held firm, and just kept snapping my fingers and patting the bed, whispering him to come. Eventually, he took the leap of faith and landed with a whump! Right beside my head.

I had to steer him to my other side, between me and Theo. I didn’t want him thrown off the bed when I turned over in my sleep. I was very surprised that his need to be as close as possible to me outweighed the danger of The Ogre being so close. Especially with all his snoring! You’d think Sammy would run for the hills. But no, he settled quite happily for the rest of the night.

Then gradually, the little stinker would shake his bootie earlier and earlier. I’d be blearily asleep and not really notice the time. So at my invite, up he’d come. He even started to come up without an invite! Eventually, the nightly ritual would become Sammy coming up as soon as I got in bed, even if Theo was there first.

Ah, the things we do for love.