Story 1: One Dog's Comfort is Another's Ruined Futon

I was reminded of this first story by my friend Missy yesterday. I have known Missy for a long time and can truly say that she is one of the most compassionate dog-guardians that I have ever met. One of her dogs had undergone cancer treatment before Laika started her chemotherapy treatment and she offered good information and sage advice to prepare me for caring for Laika over the past 10 months. Missy actually took care of Laika before she lived with me. So, I can thank/blame Missy for the life-changing events of the past decade.

In mid-February 2007, I met Laika (then known as Baby Girl) for the first time at Missy's house. We immediately bonded and Laika actually listened to me (or at least I thought so). Missy's boss had found Laika on the street on Mt. Washington, but she didn't get along with the other dogs that he had. So, Missy said she would help take care of Laika until a suitable dog-parent could adopt her. I was that dog-parent. I took Laika home the next day for a week or so with the understanding that Missy would take her back for the week after that, as I was already scheduled to dog-sit for a friend's sister that week and wouldn't be around to stay with Laika. I did agree to go to walk Laika each day during that time.

In the interim, Laika immediately got comfortable in my apartment. She even like it so much that she felt free to poop twice directly in front of two different televisions! Home sweet home! (This theme of anti-technology runs consistently through Laika's life.) After that, she was up to normal mischief for the rest of the week. She was also really happy to just hang out with me and run around the apartment like a fool. The week went pretty quickly, as it seemed more like a temporary thing than the first step in a long companionship. Soon it was off to dog-sit for someone else and Laika went back to Missy's. 

Missy had a futon that her dog Ramona had previously lightly damaged by scratching a hole in the mattress cover. As any resourceful person of artistic skills would do, Missy sewed a patch over the hole to prolong the life of the futon. However, this was as short-lived as most other toys or objects with a known weakness to Laika-the-destroyer. Maybe mid-week, Missy returned home to find Ramona waiting nervously for good reason. Not only was the patch removed, but piles of mattress stuffing were strewn about the living room, and...Goldilocks Laika was still asleep in the hole that she had dug! According to Missy, Laika woke up momentarily, looked at her, yawned and then went back to sleep. I am pretty certain that Missy was not happy with Laika's actions and reactions, but during her retelling many jokes were made...the best was the Star Wars reference of the "fu-ton-ton." In Laika's defense, it was a bitterly cold week and, as I learned, she loved nothing better than to be warm and cuddle all the time.

Although I was not a direct witness to Laika being caught red-pawed, I was lucky enough to see the aftermath when I arrived to walk her. Laika was so happy to see me and was completely oblivious to the fact that she completely wrecked the joint (which is another major theme in Laika staying at Missy's house). I helped Missy clean the place up and laughed at what Laika had done. I should have known better, but in hindsight I did usually laugh at Laika's handiwork. The mental image of a Laika sleeping in the futon-crater and yawning at Missy's interruption still makes me laugh to this day.

What I take from this story is that personal comfort usually comes at the expense of others. Also, if you are going to wreck someone else's futon, try not to be caught sleeping in it when they get home. (Although, it was probably pretty warm.)