Bearsula the Watch-Dog

One thing that I get gold stars for is sleeping.  I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, dream vividly- and remember it (last night it was about a egg/spoon type horse race down a ski slope and through two railroad tunnels.  The winner made it, but if your timing was wrong the train would beat you and squash you in the last tunnel.  Max was my horse.) And I wake up well- usually.  If I need to get up at a certain time, I can tell myself 'get up early' or 'sleep in day' and adjust accordingly...but I do have backups.  My cell phone alarm is set, but rarely do I need it- am usually well into news-n-coffee by the time it goes off.  But I do have my faithful watch dog.

Bear is like clockwork.  About 5:30 every morning, she starts waking me up.  They sleep in the doggy room, so it has to be at a distance- she begins with one barely-heard noise.  If ignored this escalates to 'talking'- it's not whining, it's not barking (at all) but this fluctuating sound like a bloodhound on mute, which she is.  It goes up and down the register, and basically sounds a little like: wah, WAh waaaahhhhhhwah wah wah wah WAH wah mixed with 'scooby dooby doo' (*that's* what she says when she hears I am actually getting out of bed! woo woo wooo whoo).

By this time I am quite awake, and she is accompanied by the coffee maker gurgling, Turrello pawing and the general need to get up...I try to hurry around so as to not wake up the manz, but he usually wakes up anyway- a grouchy pre-coffee voice saying "what you being so quiet for?"  meaning that it is obvious that the rest of the house is up and ready to go!