Stormy Weather’s Coming

Where’s Pettigrew?

Sometimes, if we haven’t seen or heard from our fine furry friend in a while, we start looking to make sure he hasn’t wandered off. Sometimes we want to make sure Pettigrew isn’t getting into mischief. But often, we search for Pettigrew when the meteorologists are predicting a storm front moving through.

There is nothing to worry about if Pettigrew is ensconced on the living room sofa, stretched out on the window seat in the kitchen, or even curled up under the dining room table. However, if Pettigrew is on the floor of the half bath, the storm is coming, and it’s going to be fierce.

I never really thought about the safest room in the house until Pettigrew started claiming the bathroom as his go-to place when the weather turned ugly. And he’s right. It’s an interior room with no windows. Just what the authorities advise for storm safety. The only problem is the half bath is tiny. And we only have one and a half baths in our house, so the room is important to us all.

Sometimes, when I open the bathroom door and see Pettigrew lying on the floor I go to the other bathroom. But it’s not always available. If I need the half bath, Pettigrew clearly resents my invasion of his space, and he’s not shy about letting me know. He takes his time to assess his options. If he believes I will be quick and the storm is still a ways off, he gives me a long suffering look and exits the room, hovering just outside the door until I come out again and he can reclaim his spot.

But other times, he refuses to budge. So I find myself picking my way over his prone body, angling my feet so I don’t step on his paws as I wind my way to the toilet. Once there, Pettigrew watches in disbelief. It’s beyond him why we would do our business in the house. He’s incredulous that we don’t know to go outside when we need to relieve ourselves. I must admit it’s a bit disconcerting to have a dog watching with disapproval as I make use of the facilities.

My business done, I pick my way between his legs to get to the sink to wash my hands and then out the door. He watches it all, but never moves. He’s not taking any chances on our house holding up against the storm that’s coming.

So, although I receive emails and texts whenever there is a storm brewing in our area; I really count on Pettigrew, my in-home storm detection system, to help me gauge its probable severity.