There I was, soundly asleep this morning and it was only 11 a.m. Suddenly I came awake to the sound of one very loud bark. I woke up in terror and confusion, looked at the doorway to the bedroom, and there he was, Simon, feet planted, looking back at me, as if to say, "You've been there long enough." Once he had made his point, apparently, he walked across the room and settled down on one of the two huge dog pillows we have on the floor next to the bed. And he went to sleep. For heaven's sake. What was that all about? A dog's mind is a mystery, mostly.
Simon is the most vocal when he has a specific desire, even when we don't understand what it is. He barks to be let in when he's out, he barks to be let out when he's in. Now Schuster does too, somewhat. The problem with Schuster is that he is a continuous barker: all the way to the dog walk yesterday; for at least 3 hours when someone arrives, and so on. Simon is a precise barker. One loud bark in the bedroom this morning, one loud bark at the door last night. Did he want out, as you might think? No, he wanted me to leave the big dad chair and come to the door, so that he could get to the chair and settle down for the rest of the evening. Simon. The thing is, he stayed with me this morning until I got up, got dressed, made the bed, took my pills, and left the bedroom. Now that's a friend, and I did need to wake up. At my age one never knows. Except, apparently, Simon.
Of course I have left out Dexter, who is a whole different kettle of fish, as my mother used to say.