Cliffy

When I stepped into Maddie’s bedroom to wake her up this morning, I found a dog bed and a dog bowl in  bed with her, right next to her pillow.  And we don’t even have a dog.

Well, we don’t have a real dog.  We do have Clifford.

Clifford (as in “the big red dog”) is Maddie’s favorite thing in all the world.  Clifford – or Cliffy as Maddie affectionately calls him –  was a gift from my cousin when Maddie was around two years old.  They have been best friends every since.  Cliffy follows Maddie everywhere around the house. He is a fiercely loyal companion.

Do you see Clifford?

If there is a picture from Maddie’s childhood without Clifford in it, you can rest assured he is just out of frame.

So, when I asked Maddie what she wanted for her birthday last year, I wasn’t too surprised by her answer.

“Cliffy needs a dog bed,” she stated matter-of-factly.  “And a bowl and a leash.  Oh, and a bone.”

So I did what any mother would do: I went to the pet store and stocked up on supplies for a dog we don’t have.

Anyway, I’m not sure what happened last night.  Maddie or Cliffy must have had trouble sleeping, and she must have scooped him and the dog bed and his bowl off the floor sometime during the night.

Which is why, when I stepped into Maddie’s bedroom to wake her up this morning, I found a dog bed and a dog bowl in bed with her, right next to her pillow.  And we don’t even have a dog.