one way to get your scared dog to sleep during a storm



Posted: Friday, April 15, 2005

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One rainy night about a month ago, Liam lies on the hardwood floor, shaking. His usu
al dreams or nightmares I suppose. I’m not quite sure if he is chasing cats through the turns and drops of his consciousness, or if he is being chased himself. His shakes are a bit more violent now, so I gently pet his stomach. He wakes and looks at me with restless eyes.

Thunder crashes outside our front porch and Liam jumps into my lap. I am always amazed that such a strong, and otherwise fearless animal can shudder at the sound of a storm. This time his spastic jolts are followed by some nice high pinched cries. This is just what I need at 3am on a Tuesday morning. I really need to find a way to help him sleep. I hate hearing him cry, and we both need our rest.

I am trying everything by now. I move him from my lap to my bed, and just about every other room in the house. I try food, water, and even his favorite toy to calm him down. I think to myself that I need something new or something that I have not yet tried.

I search the radio stations for something soothing. I’m looking for Easy Listening here, and all that turns up is Death Metal, Teen Pop, or something in between. Liam only looks at me with a pitiful expression of disapproval on his face. Just when I’m starting to research canine sedatives, the front door swings open. Lightening strikes and reveals an odd silhouette. The figure’s hair is long, in fact comparable to my own. He has a wet flannel on his back, and a plastic bag in his hand. This could only be my long time philosophically inebriated chum, Trae.

He skips into plain view with his normal inconsistency, and puts down a couple of brews he had been hording through the monsoon. Still without words, he opens the stereo and puts two discs in the open 3-disc changer. He throws the empty, heavy CD case onto the sofa next to me, The Digitally Re-mastered edition of Pink Floyd’s The Wall.



I know this album better then the children I am yet to raise. Just as I am dusting of my air guitar and Trae is looking for a pair of pencil drumsticks, the whining has stopped. Liam has begun to fall into a deep slumber, finally. I was hesitant to keep the volume at a high level, but when I tried to turn it down, Trae began to whine. Lucky for me though, he soon passed out as well as Liam. I turned the music down a little bit, and put a pillow against my dog’s side. I had to go to work in 4 hours.
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