Everything is a Bed for Chewy

Hello! 

Sorry the blog has been so inactive lately. Chewy and I have been busy...and lazy...but we are back! Chewy turned FIVE years old last month. His face is getting whiter, with some sporadic old man hairs that are longer than the rest. But he is still just as happy and energetic as before, and has been up to his usual silly shenanigans. Which brings us to today's topic: how Chewy views every flat or cushioned thing as a bed. 

Chewy has a variety of dog beds scattered throughout our house, and he sure knows how to utilize them:

The Chewy bed in the living room- so comfy.

A smaller version in my bedroom

An elevated Coolaroo bed in the home office- it's like a dog-sized hammock,
and perfect for mid-day naps.

A Snoozzy crate pad that chewy.com accidentally sent us instead of the toy I ordered
(They let us keep it and also speedily sent us the toy. We love chewy.com!)

A bolstered cooling bed (Chewy was settling in before I even got a chance to unwrap it!)

This new bolster bed that hadn't been unpacked/decompressed yet.
Chewy's face: "Please open this for me"

Lying on dog bed filling while the cover was in the wash

Then there are people beds. Chewy doesn't usually get on the beds at home because they're quite high and require a running start, plus he doesn't like to be hot. But he'll test beds every now and then:

Resting at a vacation cabin with a mini-Chewy from L.L.Bean

My air mattress when we had an abundance of overnight guests

And couches! Chewy loves couches. This love-seat is his favorite:

Hai!

Mats are good too:

Yoga mats: notice how he occupies both of them,
even though I meant to have one for me and one for him

Doormat (+ rainboots for snuggling)

Bathmat

Then there are the things that are not beds or cushions or mats, but when Chewy sees them on the floor, he pounces on the opportunity:

I was trying to pin this window curtain so I could shorten it, but Chewy happened.
I had to pick up all the pins at lightning speed when I saw Chewy incoming!

I was measuring/cutting row cover fabric to keep bugs from
eating my veggie plants, but again, a Chewy!

Trying to fold up the row covers after they were no longer needed,
but Chewy! And with the audacity to ask for belly rubs (which he got, of course).

Folded up paper that came in a package = comfy?

Chewy sure can be adaptive!! And he always looks like he's thinking, "Ahhh, this is good" when he lies down on my stuff. It sure is good to be a Chewy!

Stuffie Naps

Sometimes when Chewy is playing with his toys, he tires himself out so much that he needs to take a nap. I suppose pretending to kill stuffies can be hard work -- there's all that shaking, strutting, chewing, and squeaking involved. Other times, he just gets bored of the toy(s) he's got in his paws/jaws and settles down for some shut-eye. Whatever the cause, it often leads to some pretty adorable sleepy stuffie hugging!

Cow as pillow

Cow huggies

Dreaming of being Air Bud

The puppy pillow

Did you spot Chewy among all the stuffies?

Chewy definitely believes you can never have enough stuffies. Or naps!

Weekend Road Trip

This past weekend, we took a quick trip upstate with Chewy and hiked part of the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail traverses the Appalachian Mountains and spans 2,184 miles from Georgia all the way to Maine. We went through just a teeny tiny portion within Clarence Fahnestock State Park in upstate New York.

Chewy was very pleased with the trail. The terrain varied nicely, including rocky paths, dirt paths, gravel paths, and stone steps. There were fallen leaves to roll in and some mud to step through. His tail was wagging happily for the entire walk:

He stopped often to smell the flowers, plants, and probably pee-mail.

And we found some funky-looking flowers along the way:

Chewy's new favorite thing is walking on logs. He put his front paws up at the end of this log and waited, as if to ask permission to climb it. Once he got the OK, he gleefully pounced down it and back.

We spent the night in an Extended Stay America, where the pet fee was $25/night instead of $100 like at some of the other hotels nearby. Chewy spent a good deal of time hanging out under the table. I guess it was a good den size for him.

Chewy head                                                                                      Chewy butt

He also liked to stay in the little kitchen area because it had a tile floor that was cooling for his belly. And, of course, because there was food there. He supervised the whole dinner-making process and got some boiled salmon at the end.

Can I help make dinner?

On the way home, we stopped at Harriman State Park, which also contains a segment of the Appalachian Trail. However, we couldn't figure out where to park the car near the trails, so we just walked around a lake picnic area. Chewy enjoyed climbing on all the boulders, and sniffed out lots of deer poop. He managed to grab a mouthful of it, but thankfully spat it all out of his own accord.

We had lunch at a dog-friendly BBQ restaurant with picnic tables for outdoor seating. Chewy camped out under the shade of the table, and we gave him some apple that I got for 75¢ each at a farm stand. I thought it was quite expensive for apples, but they were extra delicious! I wonder if Chewy noticed their superior quality.

After a weekend of car-riding and excitement, Chewy has been napping extensively since we got home. He recharges enough to play tug and shake his toys for a few minutes, and then it's right back to resting.