Asa here. For years I’ve been falsely accused, but out of respect to the perpetrator I never defended my good name. However, thanks to Chuck Billy’s carelessness and Mom’s insomnia, the truth has finally come out. It all began a few nights ago, when Chuck Billy and I were invited to sleep in Mom and Dad’s bedroom. We normally don’t sleep in the same room as them, because of the inaccurate assumption I’m up all night playing. However, on this particular night the wind was howling, and we were all on edge. Therefore, Mom wanted us to be together. I raced upstairs first and settled down on the dog bed, while Chuck Billy contented himself with a spot by the door. He likes to give the appearance that he’s on guard duty 24/7.

However, as usual Chuck Billy got uncomfortable, and midway through the night decided my spot was better. He quietly walked over in the dark, it’s amazing how he doesn’t trip on anything, and he pawed at me to get out of his way. Being a thoughtful little brother, I immediately got up, and then wandered around the room for a new spot to sleep. It was during my wandering that I accidentally woke Mom up. But we all eventually drifted off to sleep again listening to the howling winds.

The next night proved to be just as windy, so once again we slept as a pack. This time though Mom brought up a second dog bed so both Chuck Billy and I would be comfortable. That’s when Chuck Billy accidentally revealed his secret. During the night, once again he decided my bed was more comfortable than the one he chose. For the record, I even gave him first choice before going to bed. It’s not my fault he chose Dad’s side and had a front row seat to his snoring. Anyways, he stealthily walked over in the dark, nudged me off the dog bed, and curled up and went to sleep. Thus leaving me to blindly wander to Dad’s side of the room in search of the other dog bed. You must remember, that at night I have to use eye drops which makes my eyes blurry. So my night vision isn’t ideal, and I do trip on things.

This time I didn’t wake Mom. Instead she was already awake listening to something hitting the house, so she quietly watched as Chuck Billy kicked me out of my comfy spot. That’s when Mom started piecing together the facts. How many times has she seen me go to bed in one spot only to find Chuck Billy there in the morning? She realized maybe I’m not restless and wanting to play at night. Perhaps Chuck Billy is waking me up and like her I have trouble falling back to sleep? Mind you, Dad is sleeping through all of this. He can sleep through anything. Therefore, Mom was alone in solving this mystery.

To test her theory, last night we once again all slept in the bedroom. It was hard, but Mom stayed awake to see what would unfold. And sure enough, Chuck Billy got up, pushed me off my bed, and left me to fend for myself to find another spot. This time I was tired, so rather than wander, I just rolled over and decided to wedge myself under the humans’ bed. Suddenly the pieces of evidence came flooding into Mom’s mind. All those times she heard me downstairs restless, it wasn’t my fault. Chuck Billy was waking me up. Mom, even took it a step further to explain the times she caught me sleeping on the couch or on the guest bed. It wasn’t because I was ignoring the four paws on the floor rule. I was doing it because I knew Chuck Billy, who is a stickler for the rules, wouldn’t dare go up there and make me move. Thus allowing me to enjoy a peaceful night’s rest. Although I’m naturally cute, I do need my beauty sleep just like everyone else. To confirm this point, Mom realized that she rarely hears me moving around on the nights we are sleeping in the other bedroom.

Now I’m not going to deny it. I’m still an early riser, and will wake anyone and everyone before dawn to greet the day. But it is a relief that Mom finally knows that all those times I was falsely accused as wanting to be up all night playing, it was really due to Chuck Billy waking me! We’ll probably be back to sleeping in our room tonight, formerly known as the guest room, but I know now my conscience can rest easy knowing that it is alright to sleep on the big bed to avoid Chuck Billy pestering me at all hours of the night!