The Suitcase

     Our Whitney has two of her very own beds, well actually three if you include our bed. To help ease her transition into her new home after we first adopted her, we let her sleep in our bed with us―and also it was winter and cold.

     When the wood tick season began in the spring and Whitney brought the first tick into our bed, her time for sleeping in our bed had come to an abrupt end (at least until the next winter).  The first night that she realized our bed was no longer an option for her, she climbed into an open suitcase and spent the entire night in it.

     After a few nights of sleeping in the suitcase we realized she had claimed the suitcase as her own. To make her new ‘suitcase bed’ more comfortable for her, I placed a comfy blanket inside. She enjoyed her new accommodations for several months. However, when winter returned she was back to the warmth of the human bed.

     Warm weather brought the return of the dreaded tick and Whitney seemed to understand that it was time to return to her suitcase.  As we went through the summer, Whitney occasionally would sneak unto our bed during the night.  With the onset of fall, the weather still remained quite warm, but Whitney now seemed to end up in our bed on a nightly basis.

     One morning I looked into her suitcase and realized why she had stopped sleeping in it―she apparently was now using it for storage. Observing her for a few days I saw that she would put one or two of her toys in the suitcase and then lay on top of them, as if she was packing them down.  Oh, and the occasional sock, glove, or slipper that seemed to always go missing, I would find them neatly stashed in her suitcase.

     Occasionally she will take a toy out, and when it has served its purpose she will either return it to its spot in the suitcase, or haul it up onto the two-legger bed.  If she chooses not to return an item to the suitcase, she quietly finds something else to put in its place. Her little ‘wiggle butt’ dance that she does after each suitcase deposit, is her way of letting us know how proud she is of this ritual.

     What we haven’t figured out is the logic of her reasoning. Could it be that she is packed and ready to go if we go somewhere; or is she hiding the toys from visiting four-leggers; or is it her knowing that if she keeps the suitcase full, there will be no room for her ―but our bed has plenty of room.

     Whatever your reason, Girlie-girl, as long as you’re happy, we’re happy.

     So long, I’ll see you soon!