February 20, 2003
Practically crackling with energy!
10:00 p.m.
The 3:00 a.m. wake-up call. Sometimes I wake up before my alarm goes off and sometimes I just sleep through the alarm. Sometimes I lay in bed and groggily wish that I didn't have to get up. Actually, I wish I didn't need to get up *most* of the time.
Usually, my bladder is full and as I lay there, I remind myself that I have the ability to go relieve my bladder while Dusty doesn't have that privilege. I try to put myself in her paws: stuck in a cage in the middle of the night with a full bladder, the Big Person in a deep sleep. That's when I finally get up and put on my clothes. Inside the crate, Dusty is yawning and stretching; she knows the drill.
Sitting on the floor, we both yawn and stretch. She sprawls out on my lap, but gets up when I tell her it's time to go. She goes back to sleep in the kitchen as I put on my coat and boots. As I pick her up she licks my face.
Outside, it's cold and icy and dark. Most lights are off in the houses around us. This routine has allowed me to come to know which neighbours are night-owls. There's rarely anyone out at this time of morning, but when there is Dusty stops to look, her ears pricked curiously.
A pedestrian passes. I swear silently under my breath as Dusty's attention shifts from the Task at hand. I'm annoyed, but I'm not annoyed at the puppy - I'm mad at this freak who is out at 3 a.m. distracting my puppy as she tries to do her Business.
I urge Dusty to do her Business quickly and incredibly, she does. She is speedy at 3 a.m. Even a poo, which usually requires at least 10 minutes of serious investigation, can happen in under three minutes.
After we're back inside, the feet are washed and dried, the coat is put up, the puppy is back in her crate, I'm faced with the real challenge: getting back to sleep.
Then the alarm goes off at 7:00 a.m. and it starts all over again.