I am tired.  And it’s Tisen’s fault.  We’ve been talking about renaming him.  Does “Sleep Deprivation” make a good dog name?  I think back to when we innocently coaxed him onto our bed, even getting out Squirrel to entice him.  All because I thought I would sleep better not having to listen to the noises a dog in a crate in an “industrial loft” (aka, echo chamber) style apartment makes, even when being good.

At first I was right.  I did sleep better.  Tisen curled up quietly in the middle of the bed and didn’t move all night long.  But then Tisen started hogging the blankets.  Pat suggested we let him sleep on the floor two nights ago, so I put his bed in the corner, piled up blankets and squeaky toys, and assumed he would happily sleep there.  But as soon as I laid down, he jumped up and laid beside me, trapping me under the covers.

Last night, I decided I would put him back in the middle, but he collapsed on the bed before I got under the covers and it was all I could do to get enough blanket free to cover half of me.  I was warm enough when I first went to sleep, but I woke up cold later.

He seemed to need to nuzzle up beside me whenever there was any space between us–maybe he knew I was cold.  At some point, I woke up to discover he was pawing at me.  When I opened my eyes, he was on his back, waiting for a belly rub and my torso was covered with a small dog blanket.  It’s more probable I got up and got it in my sleep than that Tisen covered me, right?

I woke up every 15 minutes from that point onward.  It was a long night.  I fell into a sound sleep sometime between 5:30 and 6AM–my alarm went off at 6AM.

After rushing out with the dog, I grabbed a cup of coffee and got to work.  It was one of those 12-hour days with no breaks, so I was grateful when a conference call ended early around noon, giving me 15 minutes to take Tisen out.  I was even more grateful when my husband showed up around 2PM with food from a local barbecue.

Tisen slept like a baby through most of my work day–maybe that’s the problem!  At one point, he was laying with his paws looking like a basket weave.  I had to snap a quick picture with the iPhone.  Maybe “Weaver” could be a dog name?

So far, the list of suggested names I am considering is:  George, Lucky, and Rudy.  I haven’t come up with any ideas myself.  I guess I’ve gone through too many dog names already.  Is he a Sneezy?  A Grumpy?  A Happy?  A Stinky?  (Was that one of the dwarves?)  Pat thinks we should just stick with Tisen.  What do you think?

Related articles

• Dogs and Nomads (nomadicmainstream.com)
• The End of Foster Care (nomadicmainstream.com)
• Night Walks (nomadicmainstream.com)
• Returning a Crate (nomadicmainstream.com)