I woke this morning to the sound of rain falling outside my window, and discovered that both of my dogs had jumped up onto my bed overnight and were snuggled into me to keep warm.
When I lifted my head from my pillow, I saw that both cats were also on the bed, tucked into tiny little "I really want to stay warm" lumps of fur.
My dog Riley, near my feet thumped her tail heavily against the bed.
"Yes, I'm awake," I said. The thumping became serious wagging.
Seamus, our other dog, stretched out his body to maximum extension and grunted, happily, before rolling onto his back and pushing his head into my ribs. One of the cats began to purr.
I stretched, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and scratched Seamus' chin. I was pretty sure he smiled at me.
The day wasn't five minutes old, and I already felt peaceful and loved.
Anne appeared in the doorway, a mug of coffee in one hand. "Good morning," she said.
"It sure is," I replied.
Great story Wil!
This is what’s great with our animal friends: Unconditional love. I wish we could get some of that from our own species, but…
Oh, that sounds like heaven.
I spent the morning on my front porch with a cold cola and a warm sunshine bath, enjoying the outside world with my cat leashed to my ankle and smelling everything he could find in a 2-foot radius.
It was awesome.
You know those Disney song numbers where the princess twirls in a vortex of birds and chipmunks, and maybe they do chores or fix up her hair? This is the dude version of that.
I LOOOOOVE mornings like that, but since we don’t have pets, it’s usually my kids coming in and hugging my wife and I awake with the older ones bringing in my morning coffee.
Being a Dad is the best “job” I’ve ever had!
If you’re going to blog like a blogging blogger I’m going to start appearing as my evil self on sitcoms, or the balance of the universe will be upset.
Sounds absolutely divine
Loved ones, pets and humans + coffee equals bliss.
I work in a construction camp in the woods of Northern Alberta so I woke up at 04:30 to a dark, -26C morning. No pets allowed :’(
Your story makes me happy and is a reminder that home is the best place in the world to be.
You are luky, I would have been pissed off that my bed is now dirty with droll hair and who knows what else.
Another reason I have no Pets and am probably a lot less happy.
This is why God gave us animals….to make our day even better. How lucky your animals are to have a good home that you guys offer them. These kind of days are what make the best memories to reflect back upon on the not so good days. Happy weekend, Wil.
So your dogs and cats will happiley share a bed with you without fighting? That’s awesome.
How did you manage to make them get along, especially Seamus who’s the new dog? When different pets get along it’s usually because they grew up together.
For just a second, I thought the last line was about another dog appearing in the doorway, a mug of coffee in one hand, bidding you a good morning.
Nice dreams you got going there.
I don't know how it happened, but Seamus and Watson (our son's cat who, coincidentally, looks like the cat version of Seamus) are best friends. They sleep together, they play together, and they just adore each other. Anne and I were joking (mostly) that Watson is a dog, trapped in a cat's body.
Two cats and a dog here. I get this every evening, dog at feet, one cat on my chest and the other between my chest and my arm. The only problem is, any other time of the day and one of the cats just has to swipe at the dog–she hates him with a passion. All three love me, but the tuxedo only tolerates the dog when I’m in the same room.
Dude – that sounds like an awesome morning. I hope that your day tops it
that is the very definition of pure bliss.
And five and a half thousand miles away, at the other end of the day, my dog is trying to convince me, through the use of eyebrows and really big puppy dog eyes, that he really should be allowed to have his dental chew before he’s finished his bowl of chow. It’s these little moments that remind us why we own pets. Thanks for sharing yours.
On another topic, are you going to get a chance to call in to Desert Bus For Hope this year?
Hehe. Does Watson display any behaviour you’d expect from a dog rather than a cat?
Watson is an unusual name. Who is he named after?
It’s not unusual (the dog/cat thing, not the name). We had a Rottweiler (Sasha) who was best friends with one of the cats we rescued (Alex). Sasha actually protected Alex from a couple of other cats we had that would harass her (that whole cat pecking order thing).
They had a very strong bond. When we put Sasha down (cancer), Alex succumbed to some unknown problem (the vets had no clue what was wrong with her) within two months.
Exactly what you needed after a night where you retired from the Internet for being cranky!
I love your ability to appreciate the little things as much as your ability to write them to sound so beautiful.
Reminds me of my boy Max–actually, he was a cat (we lost him in April). Same routine every night. Within minutes of me lying down, I’d feel his paws (he was 15lbs so you felt them) as he climbed up to sleep on my chest. I’d wake up with him somewhere on or next to me. Once, I was sleeping on my stomach when I woke up to find a paw in my face. He was sleeping on my shoulders.
Funny, I woke up the same way (with 2 dogs and 1 cat). It is an awesome feeling to have everyone curled up together.
D’aww! Now I feel all squishy inside! I mean that in a good way, like a toy doll squishy. But not like a toy doll named Chucky after he’s had his way with your intestines squishy. That’s not a good squishy at all. Unless you’re Chucky, I suppose. But! I digress. What I’m trying to say is…yay you? <3
When Riley was a puppy, she had this rope that she loved so much, she'd drop it into her dish, and eat her meals around it.
And then you ACTUALLY woke up? ‘Cause about the time that Ann brought you coffee in bed, I *knew* you had to be dreaming!
Ok. I’m surprised that no one’s thought of this. Maybe it’s because Wil isn’t sick or because he’s got dogs in his bed but I have this overwhelming urge to sing “Soft Kitty”!
I’ve been having a not so great time lately, S.A.D. every time I hear something like this…puts a little cheer in my life.
Thank you so much for sharing!!
Laddie’s current, most-favouritest toy isn’t one of his rubber bones, of both squeaky and thankfully non-squeaky varieties, nor is it one of his rubber balls, nor one of his nylabones, nor his Kong. Nope, his favourite toy right now is half the sole of one of my old slippers that we gave him while my father-in-law was dog-sitting him last month. We love ‘em, but by goodness we can’t understand them sometimes!
Sounds like an awesome way to start the day.
Aww, makes me miss my kitty. She lives in America now with her Gramma and Grampa. *sniff*
Seamus is part pit bull. Contrary to popular belief, they’re ALWAYS smiling! Our dogs like to get in bed with us or cuddle on the couch. In fact, they’re a little offended when we don’t let them up there while we’re eating.
I do miss the puppy pile since my dogs are getting too old to do the stairs up to the bedroom…I could have really used it this morning, as like another commenter, I woke up to -25celsius on the cold prairie of Southern Saskatchewan.
it’s a nice scene, but these two lines;
both of my dogs had jumped up onto my bed overnight and were snuggled into me to keep warm
and
both cats were also on the bed, tucked into tiny little “I really want to stay warm” lumps of fur.
make me think that maybe you should turn up the heat a little.
I love waking up to a thumping tail. Best sound in the world.
What a beautiful way to wake up. Mornings like that are so wonderful. You are blessed Wil! I saw that the day continued much that way. May you always be so blessed.
In my house we have “The Kitty Rule”. This means that at the moment the cat decides to curl up on or near you, you are automatically absolved of all responsibility until the cat gets up.
“Honey, can you take out the garbage?”
“Sorry, Kitty Rule.”
Also, all other humans are obligated to get you what you need, even if it means coming all the way across the house to hand you the remote you can’t reach on the table.
I told my 11-yr-old, Seamus, the names of your pets. He shook his fist at the heavens and bellowed “Wheeeeea-toooooonnn!!”
I spent the whole weekend with my dog, Riley. He’s a Pekingese. My husband was out of town playing Stormtrooper with the 501st Legion.
Best part of the weekend was when Riley joined the Band. (Rock Band 3 for Wii).
I can’t remember the song now, but just as the track started there was a barking dog and then Riley barked right in tune and time and then waited for a part to do it again ( unfortunately didn’t happen, so he curled back up on his pillow again)
that is so beautiful
im jealous i miss having mornings like this
its the simple things that makes life worth living i reckon
the simple and simply beautiful things like this