Linus would understand.

On Monday I gave Finn a bath. It hadn't been long since his last bath, but he was starting to smell rather doggy already. I decided this was because his rug was looking rather dingy despite regular vacuuming. It was due for a wash. It wouldn't quite fit in the washer so off to the dry cleaners it would have to go. Until then, to keep him from rolling on it and getting dirty, I rolled it up and put it outside on one of the lawn chairs.

The first problem we noticed is that Finn wouldn't lie down in the family room now that his rug was gone. He just stood there looking at us. When we went outside with him, he went to his rolled up rug and sniffed it, looked at us, looked at it, looked at us.....

He wanted his rug back inside where it belonged. I wanted him to stay clean. The rug stayed outside. For a moment I wondered if he thought because his rug was outside he might have to stay outside, but his beds were still in the house.

Last night he again went to his rug outside. I hadn't taken it to be cleaned yet so it was still draped over the lawn chair. He sniffed it and looked at me. Nope, it isn't going back inside until it's cleaned. After his dinner, I gave him a few cookies to munch on like I usually do. He promptly took his cookies over to the couch and ate them standing over the couch cushions so the crumbs fell all over where we sit. He did this twice. See, the couch was were we sit in the family room, the rug was his 'couch' and it wasn't fair that it was gone.

If you have kids, remember when they were small, and had a special 'blankie' or stuffed toy they HAD to have. Remember how dirty it would get, and how you would sneak it away from them to wash it and get it back before they realized it was gone. Yeah, this is just like that, but rather than throw a screaming fit, Finn plans his revenge.

This morning when I got up, he had deposited his much chewed rib bone on the couch. The point was made, I dropped the rug off on my way to work to be cleaned. Unfortunately it won't be ready until Saturday. Funny, the lady at the dry cleaners gave me such a strange look when I asked how quick it could be cleaned because my dog wants his rug back.