September 30, 2020

White Dog smiled as she imagined the scene; she loved the gentle thoughtfulness shown to her smallest sister. As many of you know, our Bella increasingly suffers from canine dementia and sometimes bedtime triggers manic pacing. For her safety and our peace of mind we set up a gated private bedroom for her in the bathroom next to our room. It has a nightlight, mattress, blanket, cuddle pillow, rugs on the floor and space to move around.

She is, for the most part, comfortable and uncomplaining in the space. Bella often goes into the bathroom during the day just to nap now. But some nights she finds herself unable to settle down at bedtime. Instead, she paces around in circles.

Bailey with her even mellow demeanor, sturdy reassuring size, and softness, offers an anchor for our Tiny Dancer. And Bailey does not seem to mind being sniffed or leaned against as Bella gathers courage and bearings. Our patient Bai lets Bella take the lead while just quietly lending her a presence.

Last night was one of those pacing, unsettled nights. All were tucked in and Bella continued to walk; I could hear her on the other side of our bedroom wall. "Let her be," I told Steve. "Let's see if she settles down while we watch a bit of television." About halfway through the program, I noticed the quiet. "There you have it. Resting. But where is Bailey?" Bai and Zso usually cluster with us on the bed for TV time.

When Steve got up at the end of the hour to settle things for final lights out he softly said, "Come on Sweet Bailey, you can go to your bed now. Thanks for lulling Bella to sleep."

Our beautiful (inside and out) girl had spent TV time lying against Bella's gate. Bella was pressed against it on the other side where she could feel her sister's warmth and even breathing; she was soundly asleep, in fact, was snoring gently.

Before she went to curl up with Zsofia, I wrapped my arms around Bailey. "Thank you, Baby Girl! You have such a loving heart. Sweet dreams."