Midnight Madness...

I love almost every day of my life: the fun ones, the exciting ones, the busy ones, the quiet ones, the challenging ones, the unexpected ones... I just don't like the scary ones like going to the vet or the dog dentist when you don't know what will happen. I don't like being scared. It's not a nice feeling. But I've learned that if I keep my paws on the ground and I listen to mama, everything is pawfect in the end. And I think that every time I have a scary day, I become more brave! And that helps me when the next scary thing happens, but I still don't like it. I'm also so lucky to know that my mama is always there to help me, and that helps me feel less scared, like when we had some Midnight Madness over the weekend. I'm sure you have a special pawson in your life who is there for you when you get scared.

Midnight Madness happened on Friday night, but actually, it was Saturday morning because it was after 12am. It was a very scary night, and the unexpected "adventure" we had wasn't so much fun. I was so scared mama says my whole body was shaking like a leaf. But this "leaf" didn't fall off the tree because I knew mama would make a plan and keep me safe. In the middle of the night, we had to escape from our house because an alarm was going off and it wouldn't stop. I'm SO scared of loud noises, and it made my ears hurt so much, and the noise was everywhere. So Mama quickly put me in the car, packed a bag for me, and we drove off, not even knowing where we would go. It was terrible. But Mama said there is always a solution, and I know she is so good at solving problems. She quickly found a hotel for us that was pet-friendly and where we could stay for the night. The lady at the hotel was so nice. She gave me my own special bed, a water bowl, and a whole bag of treats. When I asked Mama how come she didn't get any free things like me, she said my things weren't free. They cost $75. She said you always have to read the fine print. But they didn't give me anything to read. I'm guessing they gave that to mama to read.

Anyhow, free things or no free things, it was still a scary night for me. Everything was new for me. There were so many noises I didn't know, things I hadn't seen before, and mama's bed was SO high I couldn't get onto it myself. Mama stayed up all night to make sure I was okay. It was a long night, and we only got to go home at lunchtime the next day. But we did get to go home. I got to stay in a hotel for the first time, and I even got scrambled eggs for breakfast! Now I can't wait to go to another hotel because it won't be so scary for me. Mama said I shouldn't hold my breath... I'm not sure what she meant. I never hold my breath. Maybe that's something people do? This is what I learned from our Midnight Madness adventure:

1. No matter what scary things happen in life, there's always a solution, and sometimes there's even more than one answer. And if you can't find it yourself, there is almost always someone who can help you if you ask. Mama says everything is figure-outable. You just have to want to find the answer, like Mama finding a hotel in the middle of the night for us that would allow me to stay, too. 2. The pictures you see don't always tell the real story like my pictures here. I looked happy, but I was really scared. My scared face sometimes looks like my happy face. If I didn't tell you, you'd just think I was happy. So remember, there's almost always another picture besides the one you get to see, so don't judge yourself because of the pictures you do see.

3. If you look for treats, you'll find treats. It's like what Mama tells her clients: if you look for solutions, you'll find them, and if you look for problems, you'll find them, too. So you have to look for the things that you want. That's why when we play "Go Find," there are so many places to look, and I could just give up, but I want the treats, and so that's what I look for. And just like mama said it would be, I always find them.

Maybe you have things in your life right now that you need to find the answer to. Mama said I should tell you to see how many solutions you can find for your problem so you can pick the best one - see how many "treats" you can find for the problem you have, and then you won't have a problem anymore. I hope today's Dog Blog is helpful and that you find all the "treats" you need this week. You're pawsome, so don't give up!

Toffy xoxo #lifewithtoffy

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