About a month ago, we started to let Chester sleep in bed with us. He has been with us almost a year now.

Chester has passed most of the tests: except on the rare occasion the boys are acting up, he stays on the bed all night (which is good, since he can’t get up on the bed without assistance).

He has managed to wake me up the few times he’s been sick & needed to go in the middle of the night. Not that I really appreciate this, mind you, but far better for him to wake me than to jump off the bed & do his business on the floor.

He hasn’t jumped off the bed in the mornings when Gizmo comes in, and generally makes some noise while trying to get me up — even the time or two Gizmo jumped on the bed, found Chester there, and had a hissy fit.

Last night was almost the final test: Simba came to bed with us. Simba didn’t hiss at Chester, and Chester just stayed curled up next to me, while Simba curled up next to me further down — and they remained that way the rest of the night.

Even Gizmo came to bed with me last night, which he hasn’t done pretty much since we got Chester. He left when Chester came to bed, and it remains to be seen whether or not he tries it again tonight.

It would make me very happy to have all of them on the bed with us. I’m sure we’ll have the three of them (Chester, Lola, and Simba) on there someday, but I despair a bit of ever getting Gizmo to calm down about the dogs.

Some days four animals really do seem like four too many. I hate that Gizmo is unhappy, and hate even more the fact that I’ve made him unhappy. At least he mostly tolerates the dogs, and I’m sure as the years go by and they settle down, he’ll calm down more and more about them.

I always thought I’d foster, but I doubt that I ever will as long as we have Gizmo. It’s too hard on him. It’s too bad, really, because I think Simba would take it in stride, as he does everything else.

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