Is that not the picture of canine tranquility?
Oh, my fellow insomniacs, are we not jealous?
Look, here’s the deal: Going from roadside roamer to house sleeper can be a tough journey – for humans or dogs, but in this case, we’ll focus on the dogs.
The animal doesn’t have to be patient and determined, but the human sure has to swear an oath of diligence and drive. Animals that are tossed out on the side of the road have a natural tendency to be wary of the next human or the next dozen humans who might wander by the “hiding area.”
When things work out, well, frankly, it’s cause for celebration. And that is why this weekend’s “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap” spotlight falls on Lil’ Bit.
You may recall having seen this dog before in an edition or two of Readlarrypowell.com. \
I’ll refresh your memory with this roadside photo. That’s Lil’ Bit and pals where they were dumped on a road near the Mountain View College campus where Dianne Cole works and near the National Golf Course where some of the workers helped Dianne keep tabs on the dogs for months. As time went by, dogs were moved to safe haven and the only being left behind was the elusive Lil’ Bit.
We reported back on Sept. 19 about Dianne getting Lil’ Bit into custody (you can read it in our archives—or just Google it). It wasn’t the easiest conversion of a free-roaming accidental street dog into a trusting relationship.
Now, thanks to Dianne and the guy she calls “my sweet husband Mike,” there is an active colony of confident and relaxed sleepers at their home.
She has sent us a collection of photos of the family’s sleeping dogs. Here’s the explanation:
That’s Lady “sleeping with her head on the pillow. She’s the ‘queen bee’ and makes sure the other three know it.
“One night a week or so ago I snapped the second picture of Cisco, Abby and Lil’ Bit all sharing the couch. Those three get along very well together.”
And one recent day as Dianne “sat in the office working on a project, Lil’ Bit was curled under the table and the other three were all around my chair napping.
“The one of Lil' Bit in red is just a day or so after I rescued her and she was just starting to feel comfortable resting. She's never very far away from me so I'll often find her curled up on the bath mat when I'm getting dressed in the morning. While the other three slumbered on the couch together, Lady slept on her bed.
“It's been completely amazing at how well Lil’ Bit has adapted to living in a home after 4 1/2 months of living in the wild on the golf course. She adores Cisco and Abby and they in turn love her. “It took Abby a couple of weeks to accept her, but Cisco liked her from the very beginning which is a good thing as Lil' Bit took an immediate liking to him. Lady puts up with her and keeps her in place and Lil' Bit has learned to avoid Lady. LOL! I do think Lady is starting to come around though.
“It was a long 4 1/2 months trying to catch Lil' Bit, but it was worth every second. She is a total sweetheart and has so many people that love her. She had her own Facebook following and people still ask about her. I still post pictures and videos on Facebook so all of her adoring fans can see how she's doing.”
And somewhere around here there is a jerk who dumped a bunch of dogs on a remote stretch of road and cheated himself out of a great companion with a sensitive heart.
Perhaps that person cannot sleep – that would be justice.
(To nominate your sleeping dogs, napping cats, drowsy dingo, lounging lamb or slumbering sheep for the spotlight in our weekend feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, send photo and info to [email protected]. Remember, at Readlarrypowelldown, we’re always happy to know that someone, somewhere has been able to nod off – except the bad guys, of course. We hope they’re tossing and turning and thinking about changing their ways.)
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