Lou Lou Gets a Boo Boo

Louie asking to get on the bed (on the right side of the bed)

Lou Lou got a boo boo.
Louie is a smart and capable guy, so much so that sometimes I forget that he's blind. He navigates around our tiny cluttered house no problem. With just a few whispered verbal cues he can navigate his way up, over and through a big bunch of fallen logs in our front yard, so when it comes to getting around nowadays, I just let Louie figure it out mostly by himself. I've always got an eye or an ear out for him, but I think it's important for him to be confident and be able to explore for himself. When Louie is sleepy this is not a good idea.

When Louie is sleeping and wakes suddenly, he's like a crazy drunk man who doesn't realize he still has his hat pulled over his eyes. Louie acts as if he can see and just goes for it. If Louie's asleep and our other dog, Snorp, barks at something, this can trigger Louie to 'get up and go!!' without thinking it through at all.

Louie sleeps on our bed, often.
Louie knows that when he needs to get down from the bed, he needs to get off of the right side of the bed. This keeps him aware of where he is and the right side of the bed is a clear landing. The foot of the bed has a small cabinet with our TV on it about 16 inches away from the bed and the left side has hour dresser about 2 1/2 feet from the bed. The right side is a clear 5 foot area where he can get off and turn around and decide where to go next. When Louie is fast asleep and he wakes up quick, you never know what will happen next.

Saturday night, Paul went to town for a show.
He didn't get home until about 2:30am. I was sleeping with Louie on the bed and Snorp was waiting for his Daddy by the front door all night, as usual. I was dead asleep when I opened my eyes and saw Louie launching himself off the foot of the bed while barking. Paul had just walked in the front door and Snorp was excitedly greeting him. Louie heard the commotion and went into autopilot and jumped off the foot of the bed instead of the right side and dove head first into the cabinet with the TV on it. It made a pretty good thunk, but he still managed to turn and drop his back legs down and trot over to go and happily greet Paul. The sound of his head hitting the wooden furniture sent shivers up my back and down my arms, the hair standing up on the back of my neck.

Louie lays facing his exit. Behind him is the cabinet he crashed into.

I always try to stay calm when Louie hurts himself.
It's really hard to do. Sometimes I think the sound of him bonking his head hurts me more than it hurts him. He did not whimper or whine. He did not let out a squeal or anything at all. If I didn't see what he did, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. I let him finish the 'power petting' he was getting from dad and I turned on the light and sat on the floor and cradled his big stupid head in my hands. Sure enough, there on his forehead was a little nick, barely bleeding. I got out the first aide kit and a bit of disinfectant and dabbed it in there. Louie sat and waited so patiently. If it stung at all, he did not let on of his discomfort in the slightest. I patted a bit of antibiotic ointment and was just happy it was in a spot where he wouldn't try to lick it off.

Looking at the cut now, I see it might leave a scar.
It's not very deep at all, it looks like he just hit the small metal handle on one of the doors of the cabinet and it just shaved a little spot on his forehead. It's not deep at all, just hairless and white now. My mom said 'Oh, he looks tough now. People are going to think he was a fighting dog.' We both pause and look down at Louie with his goofy carefree smile and wagging tail. We look back to each other and we both shake our heads. No, no one would believe that.

This poses a question that is worth looking into.
Should Louie not be allowed on the bed because he might hurt himself? Should Louie have to sleep in a kennel or a crate to prevent something like this from happening? Should Louie only be allowed on leash, constantly tethered to his mommy or daddy? It's worth asking myself. This is how we all learn from our mistakes, and from others mistakes as well.

Our cozy and colorful tiny living/dining room

Normally, I wake up when Louie starts to stir and I help him off the bed.
Louie figures it out all on his own most days without any help at all, but, 1 in 1,000 times he leaps into the wall instead of onto the floor. Should he be caged, leashed and guarded? I think of what his quality of life would be like if he wasn't allowed to be free to explore and learn on his own and I say: No. He should not be caged, guarded and leashed 100% of the time. We do take precautions, don't get me wrong. That's why we don't have our bed next to our 4 story balcony window where he could smash through and sail off into the cold night. I don't have a glass table with a narrow ceramic vase holding a precariously perched anvil. My house does not resemble an 'Angry Birds' set up or a wicked game of dominos in the slightest. Actually, we are quite thoughtful when decorating or arranging our home. We keep all our family members in mind when setting up, including our pets.

Think about this same scenario, only with a young child, toddler or baby. We know our kids need to explore and try things to be able to learn. Telling a kid not to jump on the bed because they could fall off and get hurt is one thing, but actually falling off the bed and getting hurt is a lesson that no one else could teach as well as gravity does. I firmly believe we are here to cushion our kids fall and kiss their boo boo's, but not to cage or leash them. Because then, when they are inevitably set free, they will not know how the world works or how to figure things out for themselves. Louie is a lot like a toddler, but without the sassy mouth. I definitely handle him with kid gloves, but I do not hold him back from learning from his own mistakes. I know Louie will not accidentally leap off the wrong side of the bed again for a very long time. He's moving slower when he's on the bed and putting more thought into it. He is also looking to me to support and instruction, and I am there and happy to give it.

6/4/2015 UPDATE: I reread this today and wow, now that I'm a mom this last paragraph is great parenting advice! I had no idea when I wrote this post that two month later I would find out I was pregnant! Funny how it all works out. More importantly, Louie does not have a scar from this little misstep! Thanks for reading.