Creature Comforts

Creature Comforts

Now we know as humans we like our comfort. We have become spoiled over the decades with comfortable shoes, comfortable clothes we even have thermostats that regulate our indoor environmental temperature. We punch in a range and it keeps our homes and offices at a comfortable temperature. We can’t even stand to sweat a little. We especially have to be comfortable when we sleep. We set our thermostats to a comfortable temperature, make sure we do not have too much or too little lighting and make arrangements for complete peace and quiet. Barring that we have noise machines that make “soothing” sounds that imitate natural outdoor sounds to help us sleep and drown out city outside noises. Most important of all – our beds. They have to be comfortable. Not too hard and not too soft but just right – for us.

Now, how do you feel when you lay yourself down for a nice slumber while your dog sleeps on a hard floor? I don’t care if you have carpeting, the floor is still hard. That’s why you’re not sleeping on it. Well, I didn’t think much about it myself. I was raised where the dogs stayed on the floor and off the furniture. Like most people I figured dogs were “used to it”. That is until Megan taught me otherwise.

The only time any of my dogs got something soft to sleep on was in the winter. On cold nights I would give them one of my old blankets to sleep on and keep warm off the cold hard wood floor. Blankets were too hot in the summer. My dogs did not want to use them in the summer.

I was still living at home with my mother and two of my brothers. I was going to college at the time. In the summer I would have saved enough money from my job that I would take a week off and go on vacation. While away my mom would take care of my fur babies for me.

One summer while away, I did not know it but Megan slept in my younger brother’s room instead of in my mom’s room. When I got back my brother Eric told me she had been sleeping with him each night on her blanket. He had a thick shag carpet in his room but still put her blanket down on top of it to sleep. I told him I was surprised she slept on it. I thought it would be too hot for her. I thought it was nice she was taken care of and spoiled while I was gone.

Not thinking much more of it I went to bed that night, back in the routine and called Megan into my room to go to sleep. I kissed her goodnight as always and hopped into bed, got under the covers and turned out the light. She stood at my bedside staring at me and smiling. Usually when I would turn off the light I would hear her go lie down. Nothing.

The room was dark so I could not see a thing but still did not hear Megan lie down. We both just stayed still waiting for the other to make a move. Nothing. I knew she was still standing at my bedside…staring at me.

I turned the lamp on and there she was…staring at me...and smiling!

I told her goodnight again and kissed her and lay down on the bed again but with the light on. She’s still staring at me.

I sat up. “What? What do you want?” I pleaded.

She just looked at me then looked down towards my legs still smiling. I thought she was thinking of what I said.

“What do you want? Show me.” I asked.

She still stared at me then looked down again.

“Megan I don’t know what you want. What? Show me.”

This time she stared at me then took her nose and flipped my covers with it.

“Do you want to come up on the bed?” So I pat the bed. Nothing.

“Megan, I don’t know what you want? What?” I asked.

She looked at me, flipped the covers with her nose, then looked at me again.

“Do you want the blanket?” Her face lit up with a big smile and she started jumping up and down. “Blanket?” She showed me an emphatic “Yes! Yes! Yes!” (“You slow human.” My words. I’m not sure if they were hers.)

I got out of bed as she jumped up and down and all around me as if shouting “She got it! She got it!”

I went to my brother’s room where the blanket she had been sleeping on during my absence was still lying. I picked it up off the floor and took it to my bedroom. The entire time Megan followed me with such exuberance and enthusiasm she was bouncing all over the place. I am not sure if her excitement was for the blanket or for the fact that I was finally able to figure out what she was conveying to me. After all, we humans are such slow beings compared to all other life on this planet. She may have been proud that something so slow could finally communicate and understand her, however limited the exchange was. I am, however, certain that she followed me to my brother’s room to make sure I knew what I was doing, what to get, and that I did not screw anything up.

We went back to my room and I set the blanket on the floor next to my bed. Without hesitation Megan got on the blanket and lay down. I climbed into bed and took one more look at Megan. She was curled up and looked so content. I was so impressed and proud of her. I finally turned off the light and we both went to sleep. This time we were both smiling.

More "Creature Comforts" to follow...

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Megan's Gift