Sleeping in...

I don’t like sleeping in. In fact, I rarely sleep. I always have one eye open just so I don’t miss any action.

On the weekends, sometimes mom sleeps in. I don’t like that either. That means I may have to wait to get my breakfast. I am militant about my schedules. Lateness for breakfast is unacceptable. Five minutes past the time I usually eat and I will die of starvation.

The challenge is getting mom out of bed on the weekend. Her schedule is never the same on a Saturday. It drives me nuts. I have to be very stealth about it though. I tried the same wake up techniques I use on dad and she growled at me. Her morning growl is scary. With her, a slow methodical annoyance usually works. First I pretend there is something really interesting out in the yard and bark. I know if I bark, Charlie barks. He is so reliable. Then she barks at him to be quiet, and I am in the clear. Next step is more noise. Typically finding the most obnoxious squeaky toy or dragging my 3 foot bone up the stairs usually does the trick. At this point, the domino effect is in place. Lucy starts whining at mom to wake up. Charlie is barking at nothing outside, and mom is annoyed but waking up. Sometimes for an extra push, I will jump halfway on the bed and breathe in her face. In the end, I am in the clear and my bowl is full of food. You have to love a good plan.