Our little blind Boston Terrier “Zoe” has been spending the past few days visiting with a doggie friend of hers, but tonight she comes back home to snort around, walk into things and snore at night. It seems odd that with the usual pack of nine dogs, having one go away would be so noticeable, but even the other dogs changed their behavior in her absence. The kennels have not been such a big mess when we get home, nor is there near the level of howling and barking, leading me to conclude that Zoe must be somewhat of an instigator during our absence. Of course, when we are home, she is cute and precious and some other endearing words.

What I particularly noticed while Zoe has been gone was the lack of what I normally noticed so much – her snoring at night. Without her rumbling away on my pillow or in the middle of the bed, it has been hard to sleep. The other furry people in bed are always quiet. She’s the noisemaker. And, she’s last out of bed, too, slowly making her way downstairs, needing some sound guidance at each step until she gets to the bottom and can trot out to the kennels and go crashing through the dog door and outside.

When Zoe does get home tonight, all the other critters will sniff her while she snorts around looking for a tennis ball to attack. She will shake it with enough fury that it will fly away, forcing her to begin a new hunt for it again. She seems to never tire of that game. But it does make her tired, and once upstairs in bed, she will find a spot and be snoring in moments, sound asleep. I suspect I will be, too.