Woke up to Syrus using my arm for a pillow

The dog owners out there reading this can probably relate to how my night winds down. Before my head hits the pillow, my wife and I move throughout the house taking care a of a few things. We make sure the lights are all doused, with the exception of the light on our refrigerator door, and we get a jump start on the day by doing any little things which may save us some time the following morning.

While this is all going on, we generally let Syrus out into the yard one last time before we settle down for the night. At some point during the routine, Syrus is let in and he becomes a shadow at our feet. He knows that bed time is near and that he can’t enter the bedroom without our permission. So, he follows us around knowing that one of us will eventually make our way to bed mere minutes ahead of the other.

After getting green light to enter the bedroom, Syrus bolts for the bed. He will jump up onto the bed and lay down near the foot. He will stay there, eyes and ears alert until the other one of us comes to bed. Once that happens, he usually picks a spot on top of the covers, at the foot, to go to sleep.

I’ve said before that I have a very clingy Pit Bull. Even at the foot of the bed, Syrus isn’t happy unless he is laying against my wife, or me. Throughout the night, Syrus creeps up towards the head of the bed. On occasion, I’ve woken up to him adjusting himself in his sleep while nuzzling up firmly against my back. Depending on how irritable I am from being woken up by a tossing and turning dog, I’ll either let him be or wake him up to be sent back down to the foot of the bed.

A few weeks ago I had a similar experience, although when I awoke, all I could do was laugh. After having gone to bed with Syrus planted firmly against the back of my legs, I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of snoring. The snoring isn’t unusual, but it was a little louder than usual.

In my sleep I seemingly rolled onto my left side and had my left arm out in front of me, at a ninety-degree angle. My right arm was on my right side. With my eyes half open, in a not completely coherent state, I felt something on my arm. I felt hair, which was far too short and wiry to belong to my wife. As I began to realize that it must be Syrus laying on my arm, my attention was drawn back to the snoring.

The surprisingly loud snoring had me thinking about waking Syrus up. From time to time he sleeps on his back with all four paws up in the air. In this position he tends to make a racket for such a small animal. Just as I was about to shake off the thought and go back to sleep, I felt warm air on my neck.

Still in a not-completely-coherent state, I wasn’t able to put everything together. I closed my eyes the rest of the way and tried to go back to sleep when it hit me. My eyes popped open and I moved my head so that I could focus on what was going on.

Not three inches in front of my face, clear as a bell, was the head of my sleeping Pit Bull. In the night he must have creeped up towards the head of the bed and made it further than usual without waking someone up. He found my arm sticking out and thought it would make for a good pillow.

Here I am, in the middle of the night, jarred from my slumber to find my dog sleeping next to me with his head on my bicep. We are face to face, mere inches apart, so it is no wonder why the snoring seemed louder than usual.

Dumbfounded, I pulled my arm out from under Syrus’ head. As I did, I jarred him from his peaceful sleep. For a brief moment we both did nothing but look at the other with a dumbfounded look on our faces (Pit Bulls make some hysterical facial expressions). As if to break the tension, Syrus gave me a quick lick on the chin before noisily rolling over and nuzzling up against my wife. I took Syrus’ lead and rolled over to go back to sleep. As I laid there thinking about the events that unfolded just a minute ago, all I go do was laugh before drifting away.

Under normal circumstances, I would have sent Syrus back to the foot of the bed. Because all I could manage to do was laugh, and he didn’t seem to be bothering my wife, I let him be. I find it amazing how our dog always has this urge to be with us. It is as if just being close isn’t enough, he wants to be right there in the thick of things. Even during odd jobs around the house, he would rather follow you around to watch what you were doing rather than find a nice warm spot to curl up and sleep.

While the cuddly, always need to be around you, personality of Syrus is really cool at times, we definitely need to nix it when it comes to bed time. I don’t mind him sleeping at the foot of the bed but I’m not fond of him encroaching on personal space while my wife and I sleep.