Day 296

3/8/23

Dreams are not only in the deep recesses of human minds...dogs most certainly experience them as well. Most nights (and even days), we see one of our Goldens lost in their sleeping imagination. Paws run, whispered barks can be heard or tails wag frantically. We assume these are all pleasant meanderings, but sometimes, I will wake them from a particularly "vivid" dream. I imagine dogs experience nightmares like their human family members.

Last night, I was so thankful to be awakened by my loving husband during a disturbing dream. I had Gus on the leash as two people were chasing us with weapons. Just as I threw the back door open to the house, one of our beloved pups, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge some time ago, came running towards me for safety. There wasn't time to enter the house and lock the door AND save my second Golden! I was just at the point where I had decided to rescue our beloved Arthur and fight the oncoming threat. It seems I was softly yelling when my hero (Mac) shook me awake. I thanked him profusely and went back to more pleasant dreams.

Why do we have dreams that bring fear, angst, sadness, joy and other emotions? I can sometimes pinpoint the reason for a certain scenario, but often I have no idea why my REM would lead me astray! There are dream analysts who would have fun with my nightmare of last night!

Sweet, dear Arthur, our first Therapy Dog, had a fear of storms. When he would whimper in his dreams, I would hurry to awaken him for fear he was imagining the worst thunderstorms (or fireworks) ever to hit earth. He always seemed relieved and would spend the rest of the night on the bed with his humans. Our other pups seem to have dreams that might be on the more entertaining end of the spectrum. I can only imagine!

Whether we invite them into our sleep or not, dreams are part of the human existence. Tonight, I think I will program "sweet dreams" into my psyche as I drift off. One can only hope!