Best Friend Responsibilities

I tend to talk about Cosmo sleeping a lot, but that's one of the few talents, haha. In one of my first blogs, I talked about how he slept on his own mattress in my room because I didn't have real furniture yet. Well, now I have a new, large bed that I've decided to let him share it with me at night. Now, because my bed is taller than any of my past beds, he can't jump on to it by himself.

The process in which I have to help him is rather exhausting. I have to make sure my blankets and pillows are all in the right place, because there's no moving them once Cosmo is on my bed. In order to get him on my bed, I have to first lift the front of his body up so that his front paws are on my bed and he is nearly standing. Then I have to run behind him and lift the rear of his body up on to the bed while he simultaneously jumps to the best of his ability. After that, I have to jump on to "my side" of the bed so that he leaves enough room for me to sleep- once he lays down, it's pretty darn hard to make him move!

A lab sleeping similarly to Cosmo. Photo Credits: VetLIVE

Normally, Cosmo and I sleep like babies at night. But lately, he's been waking me up at all times of night for some reason. I'll wake up to him panting heavily, most likely because it has gotten too hot in the night for him. It's extremely annoying, so I'll turn on my lamp so he can see his surroundings as I try to shove him off of my bed. But as I mentioned before, it's difficult to move him once he is laying down. Usually he just calms back down. If he falls asleep while I'm finishing up my homework, by the time I'm trying to fall asleep, he'll be in a deep sleep and be snoring, twitching, and whimpering through his dreams. I usually try to make him stop long enough for me to fall asleep by shaking him with my foot until he gains conscious. I'll also awake to him sneezing multiple times, or to his notorious sounds-like-he-is-about-to-puke-but-never-does gag. By the time I wake up between 5:45 and 6:15, he is dying to get out of my room so that he can either get breakfast or be let outside. He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.

Even though he can be bothersome, it's worth it to know he's happily lying down next to me. Not only that, but he helps me when I'm stressed by simply being next to my side. Sometimes if I'm worried or just having a crapy night, I'll lay beside him and pet him for a while in silence just to relieve my stress. But that's what best friends are for, right? To be there for one another and help each other.