My OCD Dog

~~Originally written on March 20, 2007 (pre-blog)~~

I have always known that my dog was obsessive-compulsive. This was (once again) made completely evident last night. I took her to PetCo 2 Sundays ago when we were both stir crazy from the blizzard. She picked out a bone for herself - I picked out one for Sammy. When we got home, she insisted on going outside and burying the bone. Throughout the day, she would go out and get the bone, then 15 minutes later, go out and bury it. Finally, she seemed to forget about the bone (she must have buried it to her satisfaction by then). Well, last night she unburied the bone. In it came and she actually started eating it (with Sammy staring at her the whole time). She ate it for a while and then it was time for bed. Upstairs we go - minus the bone - I put it on top of the microwave for safekeeping. Once upstairs, Moose realized that she does not have her bone. She sits by the bedroom door and periodically lets me know she wants to get out of the room so she can get her bone (imagine a quiet "WOOF"). I ignore her and eventually fall asleep. I don't know if she continued with the quiet "WOOF" since I can sleep through just about anything. This morning, I wake up to realize that she is still in the same place on the floor. As soon as she realized that I was awake (sort of), she quietly said, "WOOF". I don't think she slept at all - she had to keep watch on the door and make sure no one (read: Sammy) got downstairs and got her bone. Guess what her treat was after they went out this morning?

Oh, I can't forget to mention that her lead broke at some point last night on that last trip outside. I have no idea how long she was running free. I hope that:
A) She was so obsessed with the bone she didn't even realize it or;
B) Sammy kept her in the yard.

Imagine my surprise when I let them in and she wasn't attached to anything.