Totally Exhausted

This is Riley. Utterly tired, to the depths of his being.

Granted, he usually spends about 80% of his days asleep. We affectionately call him our "little lazy ass" because he spends so much time unconscious on the futon (shown here) bed, and couch.

But do you know how I can tell that he is really and truly exhausted? The fluffy purple bone toy sitting right next to him.

And it is intact.

Riley loves nothing more than to tear into a toy and pull out all of the fluff. In his world, it ranks right up there with heading to the dog park to play with other dogs. Funny enough, he has almost limitless energy when he is around his little friends. He keeps 'em running around and around, barking and nipping and growling in the playful way dogs like to do. He could do this for hours on end. And we're like, "who is this dog? Surely not our lazy ass."

We have this completely terrific place here in Bloomington called The Dog House. It is a cage-free dog boarding place. I really don't like the idea of boarding Riley in a place where he'd be stuck in a cage for hours on end. I'd feel terrible leaving him there! But The Dog House? He loves it because it allows him to do one of his very favorite activities - romp about with other canines. He never sets foot in a cage, even at night. They actually have a room set up like a living room in a house, complete with couches and even a TV. I'm sure he feels right at home, except that our home hopefully smells better.

And we love it because we can get away for a weekend without feeling guilty.

We spent this past weekend exploring our soon-to-be home town, and we're now experiencing a dog so wiped out you'd think he was drugged. It will take him a few days to recover.

If only there was a similar place for kids someday.

Oh wait, there is. They're called grandparents.