I’m comfortable believing that I can’t know what my dogs are thinking. One reason is that they don’t think the way we think, the other is that I am free to imagine what’s going on in their minds, since I know I don’t know.

This week, I got a new dog bed for Zinnia, the Lab puppy coming to live with us next week. Fate and Bud love soft dog beds, but neither one will lie down in this one.

Fate was not happy to see Bud when he came, but the two are increasingly comfortable with and inseparable from one another. Fate steals his treats, growls at him, flips him over when they play.

He loves her all the more. He surrenders his treats to her and follows her around the house.

But looking at this photo, I couldn’t help but wonder if, in some esoteric dog way, these two are making room for Zinnia,  neither claiming a dog bed that each of them would normally love to curl up in.

Is there some sixth dog sense that tells them this bed isn’t theirs? I doubt it, but it’s fun to think about.

Bud has abandoned napping with me, he’d rather lie by the woodstove fire. Fair enough. I predict Bud will love Zinnia, Fate will growl and snap at her for a month or two.

Fate is smart, but perhaps not smart enough to know that Zinnia will soon enough be a big dog, lying in a much bigger bed. Looking at these two curl up next to one another, I like the idea that they are saving the new bed for Zinnia.