Ruby’s story……………

One thing that I have learnt since living here is that the best seat in the house is always mine. The best seat in the house is not always the same seat. No, its several different seats for different occasions, but whatever occasion it is, I’m in the best one.

On an early morning or evening I have the sofa. On a morning, whilst I’m still a bit sleepy and full from breakfast, I like to be on one side of the sofa. I’ll then cuddle up to whoever it was that I got up first, and whom is now sitting on the sofa having their morning coffee. They think I’m cuddling up them to say thank you for getting up with me. Oh how little do they know me, I’m cuddling up so I can get back to sleep and take over the whole of the sofa and there’s nothing better to send you off to sleep then a good old cuddle and snuggle with someone. So that’s another hours shut eye for me, keep the noise down please.

On an evening I like to lounge full length on the sofa. Sometimes mum takes it upon herself to sit in my place. So I have to sit in front of her and bark until she realises the error of her ways and moves. I then jump up and stretch out. After a busy day, I need to stretch and rest my legs, after all I’ve been on them all day, and everyone knows that us Labs have to be careful with our hips and elbows and rest them whenever possible I usually get so comfortable that its not long before I’m drifting off and then I’m sleeping soundly like a baby.

In the Autumn and winter time I like to lie in front of the wood burning stove, as near as I can possibly get, so that I’m warm and cosy. I like to stretch out on the hearth rug, its as if it was bought for me, its exactly my size.

In the springtime I like to lay out in the garden in the sunshine, there is only a little bit of sun in the garden during the Spring, so of course, my place is in the little bit of sunshine that there is, after all, a girl needs to get her Vitamin D, don’t you agree.

Then in the Summer, the garden is bathed in sunshine, but why should I lie on the floor when there are deckchairs out. Friends, please don’t get me wrong, I’m not spoiled, I don’t have my own deckchair, that would just be silly. No, I sit on mum’s knee in her deckchair, granted it does have to be a strong deckchair, but it just about holds us both, but then saying that, mum could do with losing a few pounds to make it a little more comfortable for us both., I have to keep shifting, she not the most comfortable to sit on, even with all her padding.

So you see friends, there are several best seats in our house…… but there is one seat that I refuse to sit in and that’s the chair in the corner of the room, it’s covered in throws, why would I want to sit on a throw, how dare they…. they’ve also put a cushion in it saying “Reserved for Ruby”, I ask you do they really think that that’s going to tempt me sit there. Do they really think that they get to choose the seating arrangements in this house……. I don’t think so…. take your pick mum and dad, who want’s the chair in the corner…….. the other one can have the floor, but not too close to the fire mind……

Mum’s story……………..

Pretty much as long as we have had Ruby she has always managed to get the best seat in the house. The problem is, it’s not the same seat, its whichever seat one of us want’s to sit in.

First thing on a morning she chooses the sofa, not only does she have to wake everyone in the house as soon as she wakes up, she then takes over one half of the sofa, and slowly nudges up to whoever is sat on the other side drinking their coffee. At first we used to think that she was snuggling up as a little thank you for getting up with her. But now we’ve latched on to the fact that she’ll snuggle and cuddle until she has nudged so far, that you’ve got no room and you have to get up. She then snuggles herself down for another hours shut eye.

On an evening, well we don’t even get a look in with the sofa, if I do manage to get a seat on the sofa before she does, she’ll just sit in front of me and bark until I eventually move and she then jumps right up into my seat, but on an evening there’s no room for anyone else as she stretches out full length, settles herself down and snores like a little old man all night.

During the Autumn and Winter months when we’ve got the wood burner lit, its lovely it sit in front of it, but only if you get there before Ruby. If not, she gets herself sat in front of the fire as close as possibly so she literally shields the heat from anyone else. When she can’t take the heat anymore, she’ll stretch out on the hearth rug, whilst were all looking longingly on at the fire from the sofa……. oh yes, we’re allowed on the sofa then.

Spring time in our garden is quite a shady affair, in that we don’t really get any sunshine at all, except a little shaft of sunlight for a couple of hours a day, and even though it is only a shaft of sunshine a couple of hours a day, after the dark winter months its very welcome sunshine. It would be lovely to move the garden chairs over so we could get a couple of hours of getting some much needed Vitamin B. But oh no, before you can even say Vitamin D, let alone move any garden furniture, there’s a Chocolate Labrador stretched out sunning herself like a Brit on the Costa del Sol, and we’re resigned to having to shuffle back into the shade.

Luckily in the summer months, the garden is basking in sunshine, so you’d think there was enough sun for everyone. But for some reason, as soon as the deckchairs come out Ruby has an aversion to lying on the floor. I know people already think she’s spoilt, but she doesn’t have her own deckchair, no, that would just be silly. Why would she want her own deckchair when she can sit on my knee in my chair.

Pretty much like when I’m sitting in her place on the sofa, if I’m sitting in a deckchair she sits in front of me and barks and barks until I let her jump up onto my knee. There is all this sun in the garden to be enjoyed and I spend my summer months squashed in a deckchair with a 30 kilo Labrador on my lap, who can’t sit still for 2 minutes and keeps getting up and turning round and round and round and round and round and…… it goes on.

The ironic thing is that we have given her her own chair in the living room, covered it with throws and even got her a cute little cushion that says “Reserved for Ruby”, but will she sit in it, will she heck. As with most things that are our idea and we want her to do, she looks at it with total disgust, turns her back and jumps up to recline on the sofa.

Oh well, do you want the chair, I’ll take the floor……….

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