Life According to Kiera: A King Size Puzzle

Written by Rowonna McNeely – You may remember a couple of weeks ago; I mentioned we were fostering a Great Dane, named Reis, from NaNook and NaKoda’s Big Paws Rescue. Well, I am happy to say that Reis is doing extremely well. He has put weight back on and has begun to show excitement when we come home. He is also very vocal about when we leave, letting us know his displeasure.

It’s really amazing the changes that have taken place in a few short weeks. Reis is a cuddle bug. He is not aware of his size, often times attempting to squeeze his 100 plus pound size into a tiny spot.

One of his most amusing traits is his pout. I have witnessed guilt trips, sad eyes, joy and so much more in our animals but I have never seen a dog pout quite like Reis. He throws his whole body into it, burying his face in the couch cushions so he does not have to look at you.

The first couple of nights he climbed into bed with us. I don’t know that I should really say “climbed”… it was more of a crawl. Anyways, after the first couple of nights, we had to set ground rules. He has a comfy spot on the couch and is now very good about going to lie down when told.

This last Thursday, we all went about our normal bedtime routine. All three dogs had their meal, a potty break and settled in for the night. Kiera went to bed and a short time later I headed off to bed as well. Aaron usually stays up a little later than us. I can’t hang. I have to have sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night I tried to roll over, but I was unable to move my head. I tried to lift my head to no avail. Someone was lying on my hair! I immediately assumed it was Aaron.

“Aaron.” I said softly.

No response.

“Aaron!” I said louder.

Still nothing. I reached over to pat him and possibly shift him off my hair. My hand touched a body, but not Aaron’s body. It was Kiera.

I have no idea when she came into our room and crawled onto the bed and between us. When she comes into our room, she generally wakes one of us. Not this time.

Gently shifting her off my hair, I slid over giving her a little more room and effectively putting me closer to the edge of the bed. I reached to pull the sheets up and cover my body only to find out that Kiera was lying on top of them and they were not budging.

I stumbled out of bed, grabbed a lightweight blanket and threw it over her sleeping form. Then I pulled as much of the covers as I could get over me, which wasn’t a lot, and went back to sleep.

About four a.m., I heard a whimper beside the bed. That is my cue to let Sloane out to go potty. I grabbed my cell phone for the flashlight, stumbled to the back door and let all three dogs out. Thankfully, everyone came in very quickly.

I stopped by the bathroom before I went back to bed. As I washed my hands, I realized that I had not heard Reis and Ziggy settle back on to the couch. I stepped out of the bathroom, flashlight aimed in to the living room. Sloane peeked up at me from her bed as I shined the light around the room.

Now, it’s hard to misplace a 70 plus and 100 plus pound dog. I checked in Aaron’s workshop room and Kiera’s room. Both were empty. Puzzled, I headed back to our bedroom and shined the beam around the room. I passed the light over the bed before doing a double take to stare at the bed.

Apparently, in the 3 minutes that I was in the bathroom, Ziggy and Reis had managed to make their selves fairly comfortable in my bed. I stood and studied the arrangement.

Aaron was sleeping on his stomach. He was the only straight piece of the puzzle. KIera was sleeping at a slight angle. Her head was on my pillow and her feet were shoved into her Daddy’s stomach. Ziggy had managed to find a nice size space at the end of the bed, while Reis finished off the puzzle, lying on his back, feet in the air, in my tiny section of the bed.

Looking at the clock, I calculated how much time I had left to sleep. I weighed the pros and cons of trying to rouse two huge dogs out of my bed and wrangling my pillow back from my 7 year old. Without another moment’s hesitation, I turned and headed to the pink Princess bedroom at the end of the hall, leaving that particular puzzle to sort its own self out.

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