'Emergency' Project

Sooo....this is what we came home to on Friday.

Oh, hey Remy. Looks like you're having some issues with your bed. Sounds like a personal problem.

Actually, it's been a bit of an ongoing problem - like 6 months ongoing - that started out more like this (the raggedy thing next to her is a giant knotted ball of rope aka one of her toys):

Which resulted from these (giant holes in her bed that I have already sewn closed two times):

Which brings us back to this (the holes are ripping open for the third time):

As you can see, underneath her there is a giant hole about 18 inches wide - among other smaller holes - spewing the contents of her bed all over our living room.

I don't want to give her any bad street cred, though. This didn't result from her chewing the bed - she's never been much of a chewer-of-things. Despite being a good dog, she isn't exactly a normal dog when it comes to laying down. Apparently, she is on a life-long quest for Ultimate Bed Fluffyness. The quest takes shape in one of two forms. Either stomp-circling her bed before she lays down, as a normal dog would do...although, as you can see in this video, her circling lasts an obscenely long time. (Sorry for the darkness. Even with the lights on in our living room it's still not very bright.)

This only captured about 30 seconds of it before my camera died - she laid down shortly after - but she sometimes does this for up to 2 minutes. Destructive, no. Weird, yes. Humorous, maybe (probably more so in person).

And then there is the other way, that in which the beast is unleashed. Apparently disgruntled by its location or lack of fluff, Remy kicks her bed around with her feet, like a kid trying to juggle a soccer ball. She tromps and flops it across the living room and back. Grabs it in her mouth and tries to toss it. Flips it in half. I yell. She stares. Repeat. Her bed becomes less layable than it was in the first place. This inevitably ends with me grabbing her bed, fluffing it, and telling her to lay down on it. She looks at me like I ruined everything, disdainfully obeys, and the sometimes gets back up to try all over again. It's quite a dramatic affair. I only wish I had a video to show you, but since we try to discourage her bed abuse ("ultimate comfort seeking" is probably what she would call it), I don't have any live-action-proof.

You now understand how her poor, abused bed has been left for the third time bleeding of its fluff, some of which is gone forever. The whole bed has become somewhat deflated, which only perpetuates Remy's need for more fluff. It's like an addition for her, I think.

Ok, Remy. Three strikes. You win. You get a new bed.

I've been anticipating this for some time. Because dog beds of the same quality and size that she currently has are hard to find and would cost me at least $100 to buy, I've had some fabric at the ready to make her a new one for much cheaper.

So, I suppose this isn't a real emergency, but considering we have hardwood floors and Remy isn't allowed on the furniture, I'd like to complete her bed as soon as possible. I'm using her old bed as the template and reusing the old stuffing, plus adding more. Work has already started - not without issues - so I will be back later this week with a full report.