Michele was the first to sound the alarm after I said I was getting a new bed for Zinnia: “What about poor Bud?” she asked in a message to me,  “still without a bed of his own.”

Michele wasn’t alone; Bud has many friends and admirers out there; several people thought it wasn’t fair for Zinnia to get a nice new bed since Bud didn’t seem to have one. Michele has been keeping track of Bud’s beds, but I’m afraid my photos are incomplete.

The idea of poor Bud being neglected in our house did bring out a chuckle. Poor Bud doesn’t sleep in dog beds; they are far beneath the Little King. He also has his wicker chair with a pillow, which is currently in the barn because he doesn’t use it.

If he wanted to sleep in Zinnia’s bed, she would hop out and turn it over in a flash. That’s how he gets most of her bones and treats.

It’s true that Bud does not have his own dog bed. This is because he doesn’t want one.

Bud has his wicker throne (above), but mostly, he goes back and forth between the three or four places he loves to sleep: in the winter, he sleeps right next to one of our two wood stoves, curled up on a special fireproof pad or just on the safety tiles in front of the stoves.

He gets a bit restless at times or too warm from the fire, so his second choice is our big blue sofa, where he has a choice of blankets and pillows to curl upon. He likes to burrow into the pillows and sleep with his head sticking out under the blankets and pillows.

Poor Bud.

If we are reading or talking on the sofa, he has three other choices of places he likes to sleep: One is Maria’s lap, which he is often in; another is the pink upholstered chair, where there are also clothes and blankets piled up for him to snuggle in, the third is (was)  my chair, the one I used to read in and eat in. This also which has soft cushions and some shawls and sweaters piled up. He loves those.

There’s also one dog pad he likes to doze on if the fire stove fan is on. If it’s not cold, Bud loves to doze underneath the dining room table, where he runs to hide his bones from Fate and can sleep safely between the legs of the chairs.

What would he do with a dog bed? Like on the floor and risk a chill. My wish for every child in the world is that he or she can sleep as well and as comfortably as Bud.

I’ve never seen Bud go into a dog bed, Fate has the small one she curls up in, and Zinnia is sleeping in a bed we got for Fate but that Fate never uses. Zinnia squeezes herself into it, but it’s too small for her.

We are debating whether we should get rid of Bud’s Wicker Throne to make room for Zinnia’s new bed, which was my silly idea, but which Bud sometimes likes, to make room for Zinnia’s new bed. The new bed should arrive on Friday.

That would leave Bud with only four places for him to sleep, including any of the three dog beds that surround the fireplace. But is often in the house alone, the other two are out rolling in the snow or walking in the woods or riding around with me. I’ve never seen Bud in any of them.

If we were to get another bed just for Bud, we’d probably have to think about moving, as there is hardly any room in the living room for us as it is.

Maria likes the wicker throne, which means it will probably stay for a while. Bud will never want for anything with her living in the house. She is the big sister we all want to have.

Michele, it’s sweet of you to worry about Bud; he deserves all the friends and love that he can get. I give you a promise; Bud will never again in his life lack a soft, warm, and cozy place to sleep. You can divide Bud’s life into two parts, the unlucky part, and the lucky part.

That’s where he is now, the rescue dog who wants for nothing.

It’s kind of like a dog fairy tale. Soon, there will be photos of the new setup, whatever it is.