As my birthday present to my mum, I decided to teach all of the dogs to sleep on the bed. Now, don’t get me wrong. Most of the dogs already slept on the bed. Ruby and Pearl had long marked their spots out, and Matti joined the fray when she decided that it was her job to keep mum’s feet warm at night. But Bob 2.0….he is a different matter altogether. See, Bob 2.0 is a Great Pyrenees, a breed not known for being dainty. Or tiny. He’s going to become a Dog of Unusual Size (with apologies to “The Princess Bride” for stealing and tinkering with their acronym). Regardless of bed size, having a Border Collie, an Aussie Shepherd, a German Shepherd, and a Great Pyrenees named Bob on the bed while you attempt a bit of shut-eye is no easy task. Hence, a birthday gift. She’ll appreciate this, I just know it. Dad not so much, but he’ll be under so much dog that we won’t be able to tell how he really feels.

It may look roomy up there now, but when I gave this gift a trial run, I spent most of the evening snoozing diagonally across the pillows as that was the only spot left. So by the time 2.0 reaches his full hugeness, mum and dad ought to be looking at the unused dog beds on the floor as a little cloud of heaven.

But as for Bob 2.0, he’s still small and adorable. When I posted this photo, a friend commented on my red shoe. While I agree that my shoe is also adorable, I think she is likely the only one to notice said shoe. Everyone else was focused on the white puffball of a puppy. And rightly so.

And as for Bob 2.0’s potential for being a lapdog, that potential is limited before it even gets out of the gate. In fact, this is probably the last time any of us will try picking 2.0 up. More to the point, it’s probably the last time any of us will be successful in picking 2.0 up without herniating a disk. My Uncle Jim, Dad’s brother and possible dognapper, fell in love and didn’t want to put him down. As I swear that Bob has grown in my short time here and probably while Jim was holding him, I think gravity took hold soon after.

Bob 2.0 is a smart, feisty little guy. Stockton here was trying–trying oh so hard!–to be good, but Bob had other ideas on Stockton’s higher-learning potential.

All told, it was a good visit. And Bob 2.0? He’s the gift that keeps on giving!