Vying for Spoon Space

I have dogs. A lot of dogs.  Hubby and I are crazy happy dog-lovers.  Our furry kids include:

     Dexter
     Zeila
     BooBoo
     Riley
     Emma
     Blaze
     Sara
     Ada (eight'a... {wink}), and eight truly is enough!  We've contentedly reached our maximum with these eight rompin' stompin' happy-go-lucky rescue dogs.

Really, though, you might think we're nuts (and we probably are a little bit), but they're allowed to live with us; on the furniture, in the beds.  They hang out with me when I'm in the kitchen cooking (sometimes all at once), and occasionally they creep up to the dinner table hoping we'll forget the rules and share a morsel.  (Yes, we've been known to offer a bite or two after a meal, but never from the table.  Well, almost never.)

Sure, it creates extra laundry and housework, but our point in having dogs is to love and be loved.  We like to have them curl up on the couch, their heads in our laps, so we can pet those silky soft ears.  It makes us happy and it makes them happy.

Bedtime can get kind of hairy, though (ha! no pun intended - bada booom.  I don't get wigged-out by dog hair, but I bet my bed linens get laundered more often than yours do. {grin})

My poor hubby has to go to work stupid-early in the morning, while it's still dark outside and the rest of the world sleeps, and  I end up sleeping with a pile of dogs. 

Is it illegal to go searching the internet for the photo of ET hiding in the closet with all the stuffed animals so I can post it here?  Because, I thought about doing that so you could get an idea of what it must look like.

I'm spooning one while my outstretched hand is resting on the back of another; I have one behind my shoulders, her head resting over my neck; I have one curled up at the small of my back and another behind my knees; while yet another has his head resting on my feet.  Whatever ones are not able to touch me in some fashion are scattered to the corners of the bed (king size, thank goodness). Some like to be on the covers, some like to be under the covers.

Yesterday morning, Zeila was curled up snugly in the much sought after spoon-space between my chin and my knees, while Emma eyed the spot from her vantage point (she's the one with her head resting over my neck).  She decided to make her move but, Zeila wasn't budging.  So, biding her time, Emma simply straddled me... just like this.

"Aw, c'mon, Emma, you're heavy. It's only 4:30; I still have an hour to sleep."


Emma waited for the right moment, then slithered down the front of me to wedge that pretty blond girl out of the way.  What a character!

Thankfully, I was able to fall back asleep - still pinned between them like ET in the closet of fuzzy fur balls.

I'm sure it's a sight!

What are your thoughts on dogs on the furniture and in the beds?