Yesterday Joy O’Hare donated a narrow futon pad that she no longer wanted. She thought it might make good dog beds. I agreed, and was happy to haul it back here. I set about cutting away the excess fabric and Velcro on the back the webbing that connected the two pads but allowed them to bend and fold.

The result was two 28” x 35” x 4” thick pads with removable covers. Buster spent all afternoon enjoying the one I put down to try out. Joy was a little worried that the dogs might react to the cat fur she could not vacuum off of them. But that was of no concern to Buster.

When it was time to retire for the night, Buster was adamant that he preferred to sleep in the office on “his” new dog bed rather than in his crate. This was not an option, but it took some time to convince him of that.

This morning after The Fosters had breakfast and some yard time, Buster was again insistent on going inside and to the office. It was still a little chilly out – and Buster has been a bit jealous of the extra privileges Hercules has been getting during his final phase of house breaking – so I decided to allow it instead of insisting he go to a pen outdoors like the others.

Upon entering the office, he was horrified to find that Cochise had already claimed the new dog bed! Buster settled in on the quilt, next to the bed, but was just biding his time.

The first time Cochise got up to spin around and re-settle, Buster sprang over to the new dog bed and curled up underneath Cochise before he could settle in again. Cochise stepped aside and stared: bewildered at the audacity of this quick little brown dog.

Cochise can put on a show of ferocity and bravado that would strike terror into the soul of any living creature but he is, by nature, quite gentle (as long as he is not provoked into Protector Mode). Cochise is quite a bit bigger than Buster and could have forced the issue, but Buster is no slouch and is not easily intimidated: aggression would likely end in bloodshed in both parties.

He looked back at me with sad, pleading eyes. I told him, “I’ll fix it.”

Resolving the Dog Bed Dilemma

I pulled out the second pad, laid it down and invited Buster to come try out the new one. Buster accepted the invitation and Cochise stepped back in to reclaim his original place.

Both are snoozing happily now, and I can get on with this morning’s office tasks. It is a really good thing we got TWO dog beds out of that futon!

These make-shift dog beds are easy to put out and easy to pick up as needed. They are warm. They are not as soft as a folded-up quit, but they are tougher and should last a while, especially if I monitor their use to be sure no one chews them up. Thank you, Joy, for your kind donation.