I Love Mom The Best!

 Cujo here. Mom says I have a following! Who knew there was an audience for the words of a dog?

It has been a strange few days here at our house. Mom has been sick. I am happy to report that she is feeling better today. I was really worried. I can always tell when she is not feeling good. She will sit with us dogs longer than usual. Sometimes she will decide to have a nap. I like naps. I think naps are quite healthy. I nap as often as I can. Eddie agrees with me on the naps.

When Mom decides to nap she will put Bo and Toni Louise outside and tell Dad to let them in after she has gathered Eddie and I into her bed. I don't mind sharing this special time with Eddie. We both settle in close to Mom and then all three of us will snooze. Not a long nap, but we all feel refreshed when we wake up.

Well, Mom was feeling really bad. She was sitting, then standing and walking in circles. Eddie and I both knew something was not right. She said her head hurt, actually she said her head felt like it was going to explode. I tried to imagine this, but I couldn't. Her stomach hurt, too. She kept going into the bathroom, then coming back to sit and walk in circles. I felt bad for her. When she did sit down, she begged us dogs to stay off her belly.

Bo did no such thing. Bo likes to hurl himself through the air and bounce off Mom's belly, legs, or where ever he happens to land. Mom actually cried once when he fell onto her belly. Eddie tried to crawl onto her belly to protect her from the shenanigans of Bo, but she pushed him off. She pushed all of us dogs off and went to the back of the house where the the bathroom and bedroom is.

There is a gate there. It stays closed all day and open all night. That gate has been there forever. It is not a tall gate. Mom and Dad simply step over it. I know that Toni Louise could jump over it with little effort, but we never try to get over the gate. Oscar told me long ago that Mom put that gate there and told all the dogs not to even think about violating the gate. He said that even the big dogs obeyed out of respect for Mom. I am just glad they leave it open at night. Sometimes I need a drink of water!

Back to the day Mom was so sick. She steps over that gate all the time to get to the back of the house. She carries laundry back and forth, she makes the bed, and vacuums. She is never gone too long. But this day, after Bo decided to dive onto her belly she went over the gate and did not come back.

You may think us dogs are not paying attention when we are spread out on the couch with our eyes closed, but we are. We can hear everything! We are just resting our eyes, you know. After a bit of silence from the bedroom, Eddie whispered to me that something was wrong. I told him that maybe Mom just needed a break from the puppy. Toni Louise heard us and said that she needed a break from the puppy.

But, Mom usually takes Eddie and I for a nap ..... could she be napping without us?  I was worried, so Eddie and I both got down to sit by the gate and listen for sounds of Mom. I could hear her breathing and every now and then she would moan softly. "This is not good!" says Eddie and he starts to howl. Not a loud howl, mind you. Still Dad hissed at him to shut up. I started a low howl myself to accompany Eddie. I thought the harmony was kind of nice. Dad kept hissing at us and Bo found our howling to be to his liking and he joined in. I must say that Bo's howl was not at all unpleasant. Toni Louise ignored us all.

Eddie told me that Dad was not too smart in the ways of dogs, why did he not know we were trying to get his attention to go see about Mom? That is when Mom appeared. Dad said, "I tried to keep them quiet." By hissing at us to shut up? 

Dad asked Mom if she felt better and she said that she did not. He asked if she wanted something to eat and she did not. He asked if there was anything he could do. She told him that unless he could make her stomach and head stop hurting, that she could not think of a thing. She made herself a cup of tea and sat down to sip it. It was like we were starting the day again! I waited patiently for her to lift me to her side. Eddie made fun of me because I am afraid to try the steps he uses to gain access to the couch. One minute Mom was sipping her tea and the next she was jumping up and headed back over the gate to the bathroom! We looked at Bo and asked if he had jumped on Mom's belly again, but he was in Dad's lap! 

Mom announced that she was sick. Dad told her to call the doctor and offered to take her to the hospital. Eddie started barking. Eddie said that if Dad took her to the hospital she might not come home! Then I remembered the virus lurking outside of our campground, so I started to bark, too. No longer hissing, Dad yelled at us to SHUT UP. But we did not. Mom calmly led us outside, knowing full well that it had not even occurred to Dad that we might need to pee. We didn't, but a normal activity calmed us all down. Toni Louise and Bo chased each other round and round before tackling Eddie and Bo proceeded to lick Eddies teeth. I know, disgusting!

We went back inside and Mom said she was miserable. Dad told her to call the doctor or let him take her to the hospital, She ignored him. It was just beginning to get dark and Mom decided it was bedtime. Dad was wondering about supper. Mom did not offer any suggestions other than to mutter that he was more helpless than us dogs. Us dogs just went with Mom and got into bed with her. Bo sleeps in a kennel and he was being extra cooperative since Eddie had had a talk with him about Mom being sick. Toni Louise waited with her master and they came to bed, too.

We watched the TV for awhile and finally everyone went to sleep .... except Mom. She kept getting  and heading into the bathroom and walking in circles. The walking in circles was bothersome to me. Toni Louise does that when she tries to catch her own tail. Mom does not have a tail!

I know all this because I got up every time Mom did. I followed her everywhere she went. I even walked in circles when she did. Doesn't anyone else care about Mom? Just me, I am the only one. I care. I love Mom the best!

The next day came and Mom said she felt a lot better, but still not good. She was afraid to eat anything. She drank some of her coffee, but didn't finish it. Toni Louise confessed that she tried some of Mom's coffee once and said it was vile and she wondered why Mom liked it. She finally ate some soup and kept it down. We went to bed early again and I am happy to report that Mom and I slept straight through the night! She drank her coffee this morning and she says she feels good! I am so relieved!