The story of Leila and how she repossessed her bed

This is the story of Leila, a rescued American Bulldog, and how she repossessed her own bed that had been usurped by the resident dog.

For many years, I evaluated shelter dogs for animal rescue groups. On occasion, I did foster rescued dogs waiting for a permanent home. Most of them were large American Bulldogs, Staffordshire Terriers or other big bully breeds. None ever gave me a hard time despite the bad experiences and the abuse they had experienced.

In my work, I had a skilled and loyal assistant. His name was Windsor. He was a purebred Boxer. In fact, he spent his life as a stud animal. His owners turned him over to a shelter when he was no longer useful.

Windsor knew life in a prison-like pound and how it feels to spend a couple of years in a rescue shelter. As my service dog, he accompanied me during my trips to shelters where he assisted in evaluating dogs that candidates for rescue. He knew a good dog when he saw one. And no bad dog ever escaped his attention.

Then, Leila, an American Bulldog girl, entered our life. Her celebrity owner, a rap artist, had abused her. Animal control officers intervened and impounded her.

Since Leila was a big girl, she had a hard time finding a home for her. Windsor and I let her live with us.

She arrived at our home, complete with her own donated bed, warm blankets, toys, treats and real food. While I carried her supplies into the house, Windsor, the King, confiscated her bed. I found him proudly sitting in the middle of her new bed, eyes shining like bright stars and with a happy smile on his face. His body language told me: “Look, I have a new bed.”

Leila moved onto the floor.

See, here she sits at the threshold to the living room wistfully looking at her bed with Windsor lounging on it.

While Windsor tolerated her in his home, he jealously guarded her bed. He did not want her anywhere near it. Leila had to sleep on the floor for days on end.

Apparently, Windsor had never encountered a Bulldog in his life. Bulldogs can be quite determined and stubborn. Leila certainly was. She did not fight with Windsor. However, she was determined to repossess her bed or, at least, to be given equal use of it.

Persistence paid off. After days of creeping closer and closer to the coveted bed, Leila finally managed to come close, oh so close, to resting on it.

Today, she’s got her nose on the edge of the bed! Can you imagine what will happen next?

The rest of her body will follow soon, I guess. It is a little like giving the devil the tip of your small finger. He will soon take the whole hand.

Dogs are no devils, but they still know how to sneak up on you. Leila knew just how to do so with Windsor. See for yourself.

This is the situation a day or so later. Now Leila has her head and one shoulder on the bed. And Windsor is beginning to relinquish possession of part of the bed. Doesn’t it look like he is pretending not to see and not to notice her? But both of them are relaxed and comfortable.

End of story? No, of course not. Leila still has ways to go. And she does exactly that. A few more days pass, Leila and Windsor live together, go for walks together and have breakfast and dinner together. They share everything, except her bed.

Returning from a short grocery run, I find an entirely new situation. Something happened while I was gone. No, they did not fight. Of course not. Nevertheless, this is what I found.

I expected her to succeed in getting back on her bed eventually. But not so completely and so quickly. Doesn’t she look relaxed, comfortable and happy? I think so.

Behold the powers of a determined Bulldog girl!

But wait, there is more. We have not reached the end of the story just yet. The two are still crowded onto one side of the bed. And Windsor still owns most of the dog bed. But not for much longer.

Does this look like sharing or what? It does to me. Equal owners and partners.

Leila is bigger and younger than Windsor. She could have at least attempted to expel him from the bed by force. Yet, she chose not to pay back generosity with aggression, though she is clearly bigger and stronger than old man Windsor. Don’t you wish some people would have as much common sense as these two dogs? I do.

And now, drum roll for the grand finale.

Watch how Leila rewards Windsor for letting her sleep on her bed.

The embrace.

Leila made it. After weeks of hard work getting back on her bed, she rewards my Windsor with an embrace.

Honit soy qui mal y pense.

PJJ