Insomniac dog

Last night the dog couldn't get to sleep. So, I couldn't either.

Most nights he sleeps happily (or at least silently) on the "foot table" (kids' name for an ottoman) in the living room, or curled up at the end of the girl's bed. Sometimes he'll wander through the house at night, checking out each room before settling back down. I don't mind hearing him clicking his way through the house on those nights. It's kind of a comforting sound: the watchdog on patrol!

On rare occasion he will come into my room and whine, softly at first, then with increasing insistence (he is a very polite dog). That usually means "please let me outside for a minute." We do, and then it's back to bed for everyone.

But last night was different. He was cranked up and ready to party. He came into the bedroom and whined like crazy till the seminarian took him out. After they came back in, he was still wandering around, seeking attention. So after a while I got up and took him out. He seemed happy enough to be outside, but came in when I was ready to. But he wouldn't go to bed.

So I decided to treat him like one of my children (almost) and lied down on the couch next to his bed. He came up to me and stuck his snout in my face like dogs (and kids) will do when they want attention. Finally I convinced him to lie down. Seemed like we both slept, off and on, through the night. But every time I woke up and went to check the time - and maybe go back to my own, more comfortable bed - he'd jump right up and go with me, staying close.

He had just taken some hookworm medicine and I wondered if insomnia was a side effect. But tonight we stopped in at the vet to get some other medicine and asked. She said that he might have felt nausea from the medicine and was just uncomfortable and didn't want to be alone.

How about that? Just like those children.