Last Sunday morning, 8AM, Robby stumbled into our bedroom. “Here’s Kemba,” he announced, then quickly ducked back into his own room before I could react. It would have been nice if he’d let Kemba out to pee and given him his breakfast, instead of waking me, but that, I know he thinks, is above his pay grade.
So as I groggily took care of my dog’s morning routine, I pieced together what had gone down: Robby had gotten in late Saturday night, had come into our bedroom (I never heard him), and enticed Kemba to join him in his own room, where they cuddled, snuggled, and snored till morning.
And as I played out this cozy scenario, I had pangs of envy. I would love to have my dog sleep in my bed. Lots of people do it. But Carol, who’s a lot stricter than I am with dogs, says: Over my dead body. And Kemba knows this. Oh, he’ll put his paws up on the mattress in the morning to give me kisses and let me know it’s time to get up and go. But he wouldn’t dream of actually jumping up on our bed.
So later in the week I was standing up on Robby’s mattress, mounting on the wall his USC diploma — which it took me only a year to get framed. Kemba watched. And I could feel the wheels spinning: Okay, I know Mom doesn’t let me up on their bed. But I was allowed to sleep on this bed with Robby. But now Beagle Man’s here, and Robby isn’t. Hmm . . .
Slowly, he put one paw on the bed, looking up at me intently with his beautiful brown eyes as he made this first test move. Then, the second paw — still staring at me the whole time. Next, he leaped up on the bed, without ever taking his eyes off me, waiting for my reaction. There was no reaction. Well, maybe an amused little chuckle. Hearing that, he relaxed, and curled up into a snug, furry little ball. With a huge Toller smile on his face.
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Hank: Dante the beagle wakes up around 6AM. I get out of bed just so he can jump in the bed and then roll all over the mattress. I walk out of the room and let him have fun. This is a new thing – it just started last month. When he is finished rolling, he goes back to bed and so do I!! Mary
Those Tollers are very smart dogs!!! I was in the Ashville area this past weekend for Jayne’s wedding to Stan Cross, a delightful outdoor affair on a high place. The ceremony took place under a huge gingo tree, the dinner under a tent and the rest all over the large grounds. But, her Border Collie, Suka has a major problem and was dying any minute. We all breathed a sigh of relief when she made it through the day. Her Toller is doing fine.