Can you believe it has already been TWO years?!

For Haskell's "rebirthday" (i.e. the 2nd anniversary of the day I found him) he received his first BIG BOY BED. He is very excited.

I made the decision to buy Haskell a new bed (note: Gypsy got one, too) after a slue of incidents where Haskell got stuck in his box during the day. Yes, tragically, my sweet (but not-so-bright) dog got himself trapped in an unlocked crate on multiple occasions. Just as I was getting used to liberating Haskell from his box every afternoon, he suddenly realized that all he had to do to escape from his crate was paw at the unlatched gate.

Brillant!

This epiphany was followed by a week of Haskell EXPLODING forth from his box every afternoon. I swear he did it on purpose. All afternoon he’d lay in wait for me to get home from work, realize that he was missing (presumably stuck in his box), and go into the guest room in search of him. Of course I’d find him sitting in his crate. But before I could get to him, Haskell would hit the gate with his paw and LEAP out with this giant, stupid doggie grin on his face.

These “Haskell explosions” continued on an almost daily basis until the unfortunate afternoon when Haskell accidentally missed the gate with his paw. There he was – poised to leap out of his crate. All he had to do was hit the gate with his paw…and…well, he missed. If he had been playing basketball, it would have been an air ball. Suddenly, Haskell really was trapped in his unlocked crate again. He looked up at me with these pitiful brown eyes and let loose a defeated, “Squeeeeeeeek!” No matter how much I coached and encouraged, I never could get Haskell to try hitting the gate with his paw again. It was like he'd resigned himself to just being stuck.

The whole thing was depressing (in a FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON kind of way), so I made the decision that Haskell needed a comfy place to sleep that couldn’t…well, trap him. Hence, the new bed.

Of course, the new bed took some getting used to. Haskell’s box always had to be entered from the right (as that was where the infamous gate was located). However, the new bed has no gates or walls, and Haskell has the luxury of entering/leaving it any way he pleases. Yet, for the first several days after I first gave it to him last week, Haskell insisted on entering/leaving his bed from the right – just like he had done for years with his old box. It was actually pretty funny while it lasted. He honestly couldn’t figure out how to get in the bed except through his make believe gate.

Poor Haskell. I wonder what I used to write about before he came into my life?!

Happy Birthday, Hasky!

I LOVE YOU!