1:45 in the morning.

Just when I thought it was safe to put away the needle and thread, Savannah has decided to tear a hole in the other side of her bed.

This is the second time I've been downstairs since midnight. The first time was at 12:30 and this puppy was barking as if she had to go out. So down the stairs I came, on went the coat and the shoes, and off we went. The result of that trip was Savannah trying to capture some June-bugs that were attracted to the flash-light. After about two minutes of that nonsense, and not a drop of pee from her to make the trip outside worthwhile, I brought her back into the house. I didn't say a word to her when we got back in the kitchen, but I knew that she figured out I was not happy by the way I took that leash and collar off her. Before I even got my coat off, Savannah had gone back to her bed in the breakfast room. At that point, I didn't even look into that room, so her tearing-up process on that bed could have already begun.

At 1:30, Savannah barked again... not a 'need to go out' bark, but a 'something is on the porch' bark. Down the stairs I came again, on went the porch light and nothing was there that I could see. I was wide awake by then, so I turned on the light in the breakfast room and thought I'd catch up on the Blogs or look at Pinterest for a while. As soon as I put the lamp on, I saw the flood of brown fiberfill surrounding Savannah's bed. "What on earth?!?!"  That's what I said out loud, and in answer to that question, this stupid puppy walked into her bed and plopped herself down in the midst of all that brown fluff.  Give me a blessed break.

I got out a trash bag and just filled it with all the fiberfill, not even bothering to put any of it back into the hole Savannah made in that bed. Then I took the needle and thread (now conveniently kept in the drawer of the breakfast room hutch) and started sewing up that blasted hole. Both sides of Savannah's bed now look Frankenstein-worthy, and no matter which way the bed is turned this puppy's re-design of her bed can be seen. And so be it. I will just keep throwing away the fiberfill that she pulls out, sewing up the holes, and if Savannah keeps this up, she will be sleeping on a flat piece of fabric.

Tonight after dinner, my husband was playing with Savannah in the TV room. He gets down on the floor with her and Savannah just loves it. Her tail goes up in the air, she smiles that big innocent grin of hers, and she gets some extra exercise before bed-time. (Which does not deter her from chewing her bed, I might add.)  While my husband and Savannah were playing with a little orange football-shaped toy, I decided to take out the last Blue Monkey. I had been saving it just because it was 'the last one' but I figured what the heck... there are more Blue Monkeys in the pet department of the local supermarket. As soon as Savannah saw that little monkey she quickly stood up, and then just as quickly sat herself down. Her eyes never left that once-favorite toy of hers, and she clearly knew just what it was from across the room.

We let her play with it however she liked, knowing that before the end of the night that monkey would be history because of Savannah's adult teeth. Now of course I'm thinking that the blue monkey, which is now missing his tail, prodded Savannah into chewing another hole in her bed tonight. I guess I can make excuses and think up reasons for everything this puppy does, but the bottom line is that there's no way I can read her puppy-mind and truly understand why she does what she does.

And sometimes, what she does just gets me nuts.  Never a dull puppy moment, but this middle-of-the-night stuff is just ridiculous.  

This morning, at a more reasonable hour, I took Savannah outside to use the grass. At 6:30 in the morning, I had been up and awake since just after midnight. When I got out on the porch with Savannah, I noticed that the bowl of water I keep out there for the cats was filled with dirt... little specks of mud floating around in the bowl. So Savannah's barking wasn't for nothing... there must have been a raccoon on the porch and that's what she had been protecting us from.

During the hours of 1:30 and 6:30 this morning, I sewed up the newest hole in Savannah's puppy bed, I finished the book I'd been reading for the past week, brought Savannah outside twice, and I added about 200 pins to my Pinterest boards. Very productive morning, wouldn't you say?  Right now as I type, it's nearly 4:15 in the afternoon. I've been in town for groceries, stopped at the local thrift store, and also checked my booth at the antique shop near Main Street. It has been drizzling on and off all day and I think the sun made an appearance for about ten seconds this afternoon.

And where is the Puppy Princess?  She is sound asleep in her once-plush bed, snoring lightly and probably dreaming of more ways to keep me up during the night.  I am not ashamed to admit that three times this afternoon, I have made noise in the breakfast room and said "Savannah! Wake up! Wake the hell up!"  If I knew how to bark effectively, I'd also be doing just that right about now.