{"id":1288,"date":"2009-07-09T14:49:46","date_gmt":"2009-07-09T21:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2009-07-09T14:49:46","modified_gmt":"2009-07-09T21:49:46","slug":"goal-one-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/?p=1288","title":{"rendered":"Goal One: Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Arite had four very simple goals in life.<\/p>\n

The first was sleep.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cats may nap but my dog knew how to snooze. \u00a0If there was no chance of food or a walk, Artie would plop down and pass out. \u00a0Always, it seems, right in the middle of the action and we’d find our self stepping around his snoring body as we went about our play.<\/p>\n

But Artie’s secret love was to sleep on our bed. \u00a0From the moment we took him home from the shelter I believe he was plotting his avenue to attack. \u00a0We had the kitties when we brought Artie home and we were a bit worried about how they’d get along. \u00a0We had a fenced dog run in the backyard and we thought he’d sleep out there. \u00a0What fools we were. \u00a0It was early August and hot and we were sleeping with our windows open. \u00a0After the first night of listening to him bark and whine all night long, we quickly realized outside was not an option. \u00a0I guess after spending three months caged in the pound, Artie was \u00a0not going to settle for any more time alone in a cage.<\/p>\n

So our next plan was to get Artie a crate to sleep in indoors. \u00a0At night, we’d tell him it was time to go to bed and he’d walk sadly over to his crate and curl up inside. \u00a0We’d shut the door and retire upstairs for the night. \u00a0This was when the problems began. \u00a0You see, the kitties could not believe their good luck! \u00a0Here was a dog locked up but still within paw swipe reach for their personal night time amusement! \u00a0And so they’d poke and prod him all night long and make him miserable.<\/p>\n

Another plan was needed and I thought I was pretty smart when I decided to put \u00a0Artie in his crate with the crate door open and erected a baby gate in the doorway of the room. \u00a0We thought it would keep the cats out and let Artie move about as he pleased. \u00a0In hindsight, it wasn’t the best of plans. \u00a0The cats jumped the baby gate only to find themselves face to face with a very loose and very grumpy dog. \u00a0A madcap chase then ensured worthy of a Tom and Jerry episode with the result of cats yowling, dog growling and the baby gate crashing down at 2am waking us from our sleep. \u00a0Clearly, we needed another solution and we settled on ignorance. \u00a0Every night, we’d tell Artie it was time for bed and he’d put himself in his cage. \u00a0We’d kiss him good night and head up stairs. \u00a0As soon as we reached the top of the stairs, we’d hear him get up and pad back over to the sofa were he’d jump up and sleep all night.<\/p>\n

This didn’t last for long though. \u00a0Our dog trainer recommended we get him his own bed and let him sleep in our room so the pack could stay together. \u00a0We put it next to our bed where it stayed for the next nine years and he was happy to use it……. except in the winter.<\/p>\n

Back then, we slept in a converted attic at 69th and there was no heating in our bedroom. \u00a0At winter time, we’d turn on the small, stinky, space heater and huddle under our feather bed. \u00a0Artie quickly decided that he wanted in the the warmth too. So at night, after we’d get in bed, we’d look down at our feet and we’d see his \u00a0little head resting on our bed. \u00a0 Tail wagging, puppy wolf eyes pleading, and you know we gave in. \u00a0He was a smart dog and always started very respectfully. \u00a0He’d curl up at our feet and doze off. \u00a0Unfortunately, as the night wore on, he’d forgot his manners and would slowly uncurl and move up the bed until he was lying back to back \u00a0with Kevin all limbs splayed. \u00a0Now, on a full sized mattress there is room for two people or one person and a fat sausage dog but there is no way to fit all three. \u00a0Because I love him so, I just couldn’t kick him off so I’d usually end up grabbing my pillow and going downstairs to sleep on the sofa for the rest of the night. \u00a0Lucky dog. \u00a0We finally fixed the situation by buying Artie his very own electric blanket that I’d turn on to warm his puppy bed at night. \u00a0What a lucky dog!<\/p>\n

This house, thankfully, \u00a0has heating in all rooms so he never tried to sleep with us at night. \u00a0Instead, he liked to sleep in the \u00a0bed when he thought we weren’t looking. \u00a0As soon as the front door closed and we headed to school or playgroup Artie would hop up on our bed for his morning nap. \u00a0I caught him several times when I had to dash back in for a forgotten Patches or snack bag. \u00a0And although he looked guilty up there, \u00a0I never shoo’d him off. \u00a0Instead, I’d rub his belly and let him be and I’m so thankful that I did!<\/p>\n

Kulia, especially, loved it when Artie got on the bed. \u00a0When we’d come home in the morning from our errands, she’d turn to me with a twinkle \u00a0and give me the “shhhhh” finger. \u00a0“Shhhhh, mommy, let’s see if Artie’s on the bed!” she’d whisper and I’d do my best to turn my key very quietly in the lock. \u00a0As soon as the door was open, she’d dash upstairs to see if she could catch Artie still napping. \u00a0Most days, he was waiting by the door all innocent but occasionally she’d sneak up on him still in bed and it \u00a0would tickle her pink.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, as we came home, she asked me to open the door quietly.<\/p>\n

“Why, honey?”, I asked her.<\/p>\n

“Because I want to see if Artie is on the bed”, she answered with her best sneaky smile.<\/p>\n

“Oh, honey, Artie isn’t here, he died, remember?<\/p>\n

“Oh”, she said, “I forgot.”<\/p>\n

And that’s what is so hard right now. \u00a0It’s so easy to forget that he’s gone. \u00a0We have so many routines that we did for him without thinking that when we fall into one it shocks me into realizing that he is gone again. \u00a0I have to unlearn all my Artie actions and so far is isn’t easy.<\/p>\n

So these are the memories I have of Artie and his love of sleep. \u00a0On the sofa, the floor, his bed or mine, that dog knew how to enjoy his sleep. \u00a0Rest in peace Old Man. \u00a0I miss you.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arite had four very simple goals in life. The first was sleep. Cats may nap but my dog knew how to snooze. \u00a0If there was no chance of food or a walk, Artie would plop down and pass out. \u00a0Always, it seems, right in the middle of the action and we’d find our self stepping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artie"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Kqhb-kM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1295,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions\/1295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrissierocks.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}