She is no Lassie...

I guess you could call my relationship with Lucy, a love-hate relationship.  We bought her from a puppy store in the mall--I know, I know.  And she wasn't an intended purchase.  And long story short, we just went to browse and she was on clearance.  No joke.  And our other puppy, Oliver, was run over and killed just a few days before our wedding.  So here we are, newly married, without our beloved Oliver (I LOVED that dog, he hated him) and browsing a puppy store.  Of course we walk out with Lucy.

For the first few months, I rejected Lucy.  Wanted nothing to do with her.  She was wild, a puppy, and not my Oliver.  Eventually I warmed up to her and she became my best bud.  Fast forward a year and Surprise!--we're pregnant. 

Baby comes, Lucy takes the back seat...as always happens, I think.

For the most part, Lucy has adjusted very well.  And everything has transitioned as we had hoped.

But, the biggest Lucy issue is that she expects to be able to sleep in our bed.  We have always allowed it (except during my pregnancy when there was just no room) and so, she expects it.  Lately, we have been really feeling cramped.  She wants to sleep right between us, on top of the blankets and really makes for a miserable night's sleep.  We dealt with it for several weeks but enough is enough.  We have reminded ourselves that she is a DOG and we are PEOPLE.  It is our bed, whether she accepts that or not.  So, we made her a super comfy spot on the floor to sleep.  A nice down blanket, a pillow, etc.  Looked pretty comfy to me!

The first night, she slept on it but was in our bed when we woke up.  The second night, she slept on it all night!  The third night....not so much.

I remember hearing her scratching at the blanket in the middle of the night....like trying to re fluff it or something.  And then I remember a strong smell of urine.  But it was like 3 a.m. and I wasn't coherent enough to care.  Lucy freaked when she saw me sit up to look at her and then jumped into our bed 2 minutes later.  Whatever--still not coherent enough to care.

The next morning, I woke up and went about my morning as normal.  A few hours after waking up (Lucy was still in bed) I went in doing my usual cleaning routine and I noticed that the down blanket looked wet....W. T. H.?

My 3 a.m. wake-up call was quickly remembered.

I picked it up and it was saturated with DOG PEE.  OMG.

I was LIVID.

I grabbed her out of her slumber IN MY BED and put her face right in the pee.  She was all trying to get away and act like a poor innocent victim, but I knew better. 

She thought that peeing on the blanket would give her a free ticket back into our bed.  Boy was she ever wrong!  It gave her a ticket straight to her cage for the day.  I was am so mad that she, the DOG, thought that she was wronged to put on the floor to sleep.  She obviously needs a reality check.  Big time.  So I decided that the day in her cage was well deserved for the behavior.

And then, Kinley woke up.  And the first thing out of Kinley's mouth when she wakes up is "Wooshy, Wooshy"....calling for the stupid dog.  Grrr.  So I tell her that Lucy is in trouble for pee-pee in the house.  Now mind you, this wasn't a mishap on Lucy's part.  She's been potty trained and accident free for over a year and half.  She doesn't mess-up.

Kinley went running to Lucy's cage and sat right there with her all morning.  She had her sippy there and was feeding Lucy Trix out of her snack cup.  Broke my heart.  So I sent a picture to my husband and asked him what I should do.  My heart was breaking---but I was still fuming about the pee.

He said what I thought--we have to let her out--for Kinley's sake.

Two seconds later, here comes "Wooshy" followed by a running Kinley.  She went ahead and let her out.  I just laughed. 

So last night, Lucy got to sleep in her cage.  And although she tossed and turned and caused as much noise as she could...we didn't feel bad and we slept great!  She had her chance to sleep on a nice spot on the floor and she ruined it.  We're taking our bed back!

And thanks to "Wooshy," we had to spend over an hour in a local laundromat last night washing this down blanket because it wouldn't fit in our dinky apartment washer.  Grr.  And despite her teething, Kinley wasn't too cranky, even though it was passed her bedtime.  And let me just say, that a small laundromat with automatically opening doors are not ideal for a rambunctious toddler.  We had to chase her out several times.  But on the upside, this place was right across from the county fair and we got to sit outside and listen to the concert! 

Despite the reason for being there, and despite Kinley being a bear, we actually had a good time.  Lots of laughs and family time.  We bonded over our first laundromat experience!