Barley & Peaches -- The Jersey Snoozers

There are almost no words to adequately describe this photo but that won’t keep me from giving it a shot.
I will boldly proceed by explaining that as a confirmed insomniac I am quite envious of Barley’s ability to take over a bed. Is that not an adorable pose?
Barley has earned the spotlight of Readlarrypowell.com’s weekly feature, “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap” and he has brought along his cat pal, Peaches, too.
They come from way off on the other side of the world from Texas – New Jersey. Yep, Texas and New Jersey -- two different States of Mind.
Barley was nominated by our pal Andy Fisher who married into the dog’s family – and that meant he also married into Peaches the Cat’s family.
Here’s the inside story: Andy is, like me, a veteran newshound. I toiled in print in Texas and he reported from all over the place as a both a print and broadcast journalist in the media kingdom of New York. (On the sly I’ll tell you that – and Andy’s too nice to say this --  for years on national TV Andy’s job was to put words in other people’s mouths. He made people sound smarter.)
When he and Annie wed in October, Andy began discovering the joy of household critters.
He explains, “Barley is a 13-year-old husky/retriever with a retriever's need to play and a husky's need to roll around in the snow (not much of that this year) and mush (no matter how fast I walk, Barley wants to go faster).  He has a lot of pep for an oldster, and does his best to make sure I get plenty of exercise.  Annie, who has been Mrs. Fisher since October 16, got him as a six-month-old pup through the wonderful St. Hubert's organization here in northern New Jersey.  He chaperoned our first date last spring, a five-mile walk through the North Jersey hills.
”He'd do an interview, but I think he'd reveal too much.”
No telling what a cat could tell -- mercifully, they also are discreet. And Peaches, as you can tell from this photo, is quite an elegant addition to a home.
Fortunately, when we were swapping critter tales in an earlier note, Andy wrote of this great episode: “The other night, I was relaxing in front of the TV with my Annie, watching a wonderful public-television biography of Annie Oakley, and Barley the husketriever jumped up on the couch and curled up alongside me, with his head nestled up against my leg.  I couldn't help thinking, wow, I have been accepted into the pack. This is amazing, when one considers where I was less than a year ago [no wife, no critters].
“Peaches the red tabby spends the night atop our bed, and she likes to curl up on top of the couch behind my head while I'm watching TV.  And right now, Barley is whimpering his desire for a walk, so I guess I'd better indulge him.  I want to continue to be a member of the pack in good standing.”
So, there you have it – two critters with a grip on slumber and a strong hold on two hearts.
[And if you’d like to see the Andy & Annie nuptials and hear a great toast to newlyweds, click HERE . To nominate your dozing pals for Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, send the photos and info to dallrp@aol.com. Remember, we publish these glimpses of successful sleepers in an attempt to rally the hearts of our fellow insomniacs to the belief that they, too, can nod off, take a snooze or grab some Z’s and feel rested enough to run through the yard, climb the drapes or bark at anybody who comes to the door.]
-- To comment, click below. --