We recently decided to move our old couch along…most of our friends thought we were crazy. It was a handsome couch after all, orange – a nice orange, trust me – but, it just wasn’t comfortable. It looked comfortable, lured you onto it with a come hither look but once you settled onto it, well, that’s when it changed it’s mind and tried to shrug you off and onto the rug.

The couch was fickle. The only living creature it welcomed with open arms was our little dog, the eleven pound chihuahua, Nula. They got along famously and spent countless companionable hours bonding while the humans in the family were gainfully employed elsewhere. Finally the humans decided we had had enough and gave the couch to a friend with very little furniture. And before you ask, no I didn’t inform her of the couch’s fickle nature…She has a four year old so I figured she was used to dealing with a mercurial temperament.

There were four days between the leaving of the orange couch and the arrival of the new couch. That’s when I realized how much Nula missed her friend. No longer could she perch on it’s arm and look out the window at the family of squirrels cavorting in the woods. No longer could she keep her eye on the neighborhood children as they rode their bikes up and down the street. No longer was she able to keep watch for the dangers of this world and warn the humans she lived with.

Nula became depressed. We assured her there would be another couch and very soon. We promised and offered treats. Her expression suggested that she didn’t believe us. She took to spending great quantities of time in her cushy dog bed, very nice but offering no view except that of the living room which doesn’t present Nula much in the way of entertainment.

Finally Saturday rolled around and the replacement couch moved in. The humans of the house rejoiced. It was comfortable and had no self-serving habits like shrugging off the occupants. Nula was not so sure. She sniffed every inch. Gingerly climbed on it’s more rigid back to peer at the squirrels. Her expression suggested that she appreciated our efforts but was reserving judgement. Yes, she could look out the window but…but…this couch just wasn’t her long-lost departed friend. That was when I realized that a dog might be a woman’s best friend but a dog’s best friend was the couch.