The Dog Tent!

Here on the Bayou, we rarely get what most folks call cold weather.  Our winters usually involve a few freezing nights that warm to mid fifties during the daytime.  It is quite the unusual occurrence to have a string of days that stay below freezing and is even a more unusual occurrence to have snow or sleet.  Needless to say, I have no dire need for a massive heating system.  Our warmth is supplied by two nice woodburning stoves and a couple of space heaters if it is "really" cold.  I have adapted rather well to this although there are visitors to the Little Bayou House that complain that our house is cold but, then again, these are the same folks that do not see to putting on a sweater now and again.  That said, there is one member of our family that, due to age, has been finding the cooler weather a bit problematic.  Ms. Ez, the old Bayou dog, shivered through the night this past week when the temperatures dipped to the low forties.  Several times during the night, I got up to throw a blanket over her just because I felt sorry for the old thing.  She seemed to appreciate it tremendously and stayed snuggled in her bed well into mid-morning.

This all got me thinking.  She is not going to do too well this winter.  I have a feeling that we are in for a good bit of cold this year and her old bones are just not going to handle this with ease.  I called upon Michael to remedy this problem.  "What can you do to make her some type of warmer bed?"  He pondered and pondered and finally I heard the saw and hammer being put to use.  He was up to something and I hoped that it would suffice.  After about an hour, he shoved something through the door.  "It may not look like much but I think this might work."  Before he even got the words out of his mouth, Ms. Ez had already made herself at home!  Never before had she taken to any piece of furniture but somehow she knew this was for her!  I looked at this huge structure.."Umm, Michael?"  He had built a box with a sort of framework on the sides and back.  How this was supposed to keep her warmer was beyond me.  It was then that he threw a piece of canvas across the top and around the sides and back making a tentlike structure.  Ahh, the cover made sense.  Two bed pillows side by side were placed in the bottom with her mat over top.  Then he rolled two small blankets bolster style to fit around the edge.  Yep, Ezzy now had a snug bed..err...room?  She had patiently waited until he was finished arranging things before she hopped right into the bed.  She sank down in the cushy bedding and I promise that I almost heard her sigh with content!  She seemed totally happy!  Last night when the temperatures once again slipped below fifty, I tossed her remaining doggy blanket over her. There she stayed all night!  Never once did she whine nor shiver!  The old dog was as snug as a bug in a rug! I still have to paint the bed and make ties for the canvas but that can wait until the weather warms a bit.

Today, Michael asked what I thought people were going to say about our having a "Dog Tent" in our living room.  Without hesitation, I told him it did not matter to me what anyone thinks.  "If someone has a negative thing to say about us keeping our pet warm, then they can go home!  Ms. Ez belongs here, they do not."  Ms. Ez, regardless of the times that I am peeved at her, is part of the family.  She and Ms. Put, the Queen of the Bayou (better known as a cat) are family and we take care of family!  Of course, Ms. Put has her choice of nice, soft, warm beds so it is only right that Ms. Ez has one, too!  Nah, we do not spoil our pets.  We just treat them right.