Tag Archives: sleepless nights

Sleepless nights and dog therapy

Depiction of sleepless: a silhouette of a human head with a whirl of purple and white seeming to drain into the brain.

It’s one of those sleepless nights. It’s 4:25 a.m. I fell asleep on the couch around 9 p.m., woke up about midnight. Let the dog out, went to bed. And I’ve been awake ever since.

I understand it’s part of adulting – there are some days when the overwhelming muchness of life is just too much and our brains just can’t stop whirling. There isn’t really anything in particular – it’s just the weight of everything crashing in.

Safety in dogs

What does any of this have to do with dogs?  For people like us, dogs are our living, breathing, cuddling sanctuaries – by definition “place of refuge or safety.”

No matter what’s going on in your life, you’re not alone as long as you have a dog. That’s priceless. 

The other day we spoke to a friend who was absolutely despondent. The stress of work, news, and a car accident built up to an almost-crisis point. Granted, she’s a person who leads with her heart, but we think she was more than a little serious when she said that, if it weren’t for her dogs, she’d consider suicide. 

Dogs are that important. 

As I (Hope) write this, I’m sitting in bed, listening to the (very early) morning news, with my dog’s back warming the length of my leg. Even asleep, he’s a constant source of comfort and connection.

Every single day our dogs give us lots of reasons to keep going. We get up because they need to be walked, fed, and taken care of. Exercise is crucial for our dogs, as well as for us, so we get dressed every day and get out of the house. And every day our dogs give us reasons to smile – because they’re hooligans and make us laugh. Most days the dogs are a reason to go somewhere and do something.

We’ve mentioned many times that one of the reasons we play dog sports with our dog (obedience, rally, agility) is because it lets us connect with other dog people. And we all know that people who love dogs are the best people in the world. 

Getting rid of the noise

The other reason – we get to forget all the outside pressures in our lives. For that hour or two, all we have to think about is having fun with our dogs.

That little “recess” may not change much, but it does elevate our mood and let us keep our troubles in perspective. 

We’re not happy about being up pre-dawn. But we’ll sit here and reduce our stress level by petting our dog, breathing deep, and sharing our thoughts with you.