Tags
Animals, Blindness, Cuddles, Dog, Drama King, Entitlement, Guide Dog, Labradoodle, Munch, Unconditional Love, Working Dog

So Munch has had a little extra time off from work due to the fact that I caught Covid. I am fine and have not been ill with it. Munch has had the blessing of having all this extra time to indulge in one of his favourite past times which is of course napping. More specifically napping on my bed.
The art of napping was something of a mystery to me for many years. Having had 4 children in a matter of 6 years , napping was something I believed only existed in Fairy-tales. Add to this the fact that my Autistic son never slept more than 3 and a half hours a night for the first 12 years of his life, meant that sleep was a rarity in both of our lives. Fast forward 7 years and he is a typical uni student who sleeps a little too much now as he himself has discovered the art of napping. I have also joined the Napping Appreciation Club (for solidarity of course) which Munch is very thankful for as it gives him time to recharge his batteries.
When the Guide Dogs first introduced me to Munch, they said he was not allowed to sleep on beds or sofas. This is to prevent him thinking he owns the place (as if King Munch would ever think like this) when visiting others peoples homes and making himself comfy on their furniture. Well to be fair, that rule lasted for a few days until Munch decided he could train me better. He sleeps on whichever sofa he fancies in the daytime and is first into my bed each night. He lays in my spot preventing me from getting into bed and knows the only way to move his six stone body is by offering him his nightly dental stick which is strategically placed on his side of the bed to lure him over.
There is something so special about having an animal love you enough to want to sleep next to you. Apart from frequently changing the hair strewn bed clothes to prevent me waking up like a yeti, Munch is the best ever nap partner. There is something quite sweet about listening to him snoring away in my ear as he dreams about planning his next adventure. If I so much as cough in the night, he shoots up and scoots over to me to check I am okay. The unconditional love of animals is something that shows us humans how we should really be living our lives.
We should be back in work when my isolation finishes in 4 days time I have yet to break it to him that we cannot take our bed in for him to nap on and that he may have to return to napping on the floor like a common dog. Any ideas on how to break it to him gently? He has numerous dog beds that he refuses to lay on so I have stopped taking them into work. He rathers my clients bags to lay on instead of his cushions I take into work for him and he just looks with utter disgust at a mere blanket if it is offered to him. Unless it is mattress, it is a no!! Maybe there was some sense after all in not allowing Munch to get too comfy on human furniture, but how could I have said no?
Do you think it would be a little too much to ask for Munch to have a double sized bed, comfy pillows and luxurious bedding in each school we are in to help him have a high quality nap as I work? Surely if we buy in bulk we could get a good discount? I wonder if such a request would be seen as a reasonable in work adjustment for him? Hmmmm, maybe. If all else fails, I think I may just have to convince him that he is undercover and needs to pretend that he is an average dog who lays on the floor , just to hide his true royal statues from everyone. Being a nap king is really tough!