Emma's Room

Emma’s bedroom is the nicest in the house, just ask the dog. We moved into this house when Emma was two. But it wasn’t until Emma was 3 and got her first big girl bed that our dog Willow discovered the virtues of Emma’s room. You see, Emma’s new bed got bathed in the midday sunlight, which made it ideal for basking. And the bed-top perch offered different views of the street from her bedroom’s three windows, making it the perfect place for a pooch to conduct afternoon neighborhood patrols.

Emma tolerated her roommate pretty patiently until Willow started messing with her stuff. When Emma would go up to her room and find her precious Beanie Babies flung from their rightful spot on the bed, she started to get annoyed. And Willow did occasionally leave behind unwanted gifts. Sometimes it was just her smell or dirty paw prints, but occasionally the gifts were more offensive.

I think Emma was 6 years old when she finally decided she had had enough. She started closing her bedroom door to keep Willow from getting in. But the door kept finding its way open again, so she had to take more extreme measures. She made a sign and posted it on her bedroom door about 2 feet from the floor, right at Willow’s eye level. The sign said “Keep Out!” And then, because Willow was not known to be a particularly smart or obedient dog, she added, “That means you, Willow!”