The Latest Quirks of Jasper

Jasper has attained a few new quirks since we moved back to Virginia. For one thing, he absolutely loves my aloe lotion. Any time I put it on my feet or legs, Jasper spends the next ten minutes thoroughly licking it off. Occasionally he stares longingly at the bottle, whimpering piteously until I put a little on. The funny thing is, he never touches the bottle - he just wants to lick the lotion off of me!

Another recent fetish of Jasper is his current mania for dryer sheets. He steals them out of the laundry basket or the dryer, carries them around, then rolls on them for long periods of time. Tonight he is lavender-scented and completely static-free, as he just finished rolling over two dryer sheets for about twenty minutes. I did a little checking just to be safe, and learned that both the lotion and the dryer sheets are completely harmless, so Jasper can continue to enjoy both to his heart's content.

Jasper's love of small, confined spaces has grown stronger recently. He now uses both side tables in my living room as "caves," in which he likes to hide both himself and some of his favorite toys and bones. Of course, the recliner is still the favored "bone yard," but now we have supplemental "bone yards" under the tables (apparently, one was not enough). Jasper has finally decided that I am trustworthy, so he no longer panics and retrieves his bones when I use the recliner; instead, he prefers to take naps underneath it while I'm sitting in it. Twice yesterday, I trapped Jasper underneath the chair without realizing it, and did not learn of my mistake either time until I heard scratching coming from under the chair. He was completely unhurt. Today Jasper yearned for something different, so he stole one of my throw blankets, carried it up to the recliner, and then made himself a nest in the seat of it. It was rather amusing to watch.

Jasper also has a new nighttime activity. Rather than crawl straight into his bed like he used to, he now prefers to spend half of the night under my bed, where, I learned today, he has a hidden stash of about half a dozen used dryer sheets. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if this quirky little creature is really a dog!