Family Takes Turns Sleeping Downstairs with Senior Dog

• Spike has shared his parents’ bed ever since his first night with them nine years ago.
• Now that the senior dog’s legs have weakened, his family wanted to prevent him from trying to climb the stairs just to snuggle with them.
• So they decided to take turns sleeping downstairs with the beloved pup!

When Spike joined Catherine Morris’ family nine years ago, he shared his parents’ bed on his very first night with them!

Catherine told The Dodo that they had a stair gate and closed it before going to bed. But the English springer spaniel “whined for a couple of minutes.” Moments later, even in the dark, Spike jumped over the gate, headed to his parents’ room, and jumped into their bed! He has slept there ever since.

“He loves to snuggle up and tries to push his way under the covers to get as close as possible,” Catherine shared.

Back then, Spike loved chasing his tennis ball and ran around for hours. Now at 14 years old, the once-energetic pup has slowed down. It didn’t help that the senior dog also suffered two strokes.

Spike couldn’t stand in the days following his second stroke. Even after relearning how to walk, he still couldn’t climb up and down the stairs reliably. So his family was forced to block off the way to his favorite sleeping spot.

To prevent the pup from overworking his weakened legs by going up the stairs to snuggle with them, his family decided to take turns sleeping with him on the pull-out couch downstairs.

Catherine shared, “This new schedule started while I was away at university, so my parents spent alternate nights downstairs with Spike. Since I moved back home, I’ve joined the rotation so all in all we get a bit more sleep between the three of us.”

Spike was given special care downstairs, especially by his dad.

“They’re absolutely inseparable. My dad calls him ‘old bean’ and they’re always chatting away,” Catherine shared. “My dad will also bring Spike his water and food to the sofa and feed him by hand to make sure he gets his medicines and keeps his strength up.”

Spike shows his love by snuggling with his family, so his family makes sure he knows they love him just as much.

His family surely goes above and beyond in giving Spike the best time of his life during his remaining years.

Catherine said, “We love our old boy so much and are so glad to have him in our lives. Hopefully, we have made up for his not so good start in life by providing all the love in the world.”

You can learn more about Spike on his Instagram page.

Source: The Dodo