Lucy, you too?

My Cosmos watched TV.  He was quite famous for it.  In fact, watching his television in the studio was his obsession from the moment he came to live with me at age 3 1/2 until he died a few months ago, and much of my viewing pleasure was determined by what he liked and did not like.  He loved Martha Stewart.  He loved the Food Network.  He was in heaven when Ian came to visit because they would watch Sponge Bob together.  When I would put CNN on, he was obsessed by the rolling news scroll at the bottom of the screen, and he intently would scrutinize all credits at the end of programs.

He was not in favor of unsafe driving, arguing, or people walking towards his screen.  He would voice his objections loudly, and I would first threaten him that if he "did not quiet down, I was going to change the channel."  And then he would not be quiet and I would. 

I would post pictures and video of this as proof, but Cosmos's loss is still too fresh and painful for me, and so you'll have to be satisfied by the one pic of him watching in the banner over this blog.

Lucy came to live with me a few months ago.  She is not obsessed with TV, although there are quite a number of things that she does that is reminiscent of Cosmos.  Mostly I attribute that to her being a young and enthusiastic dog.  Up until very close to the end, people would be shocked to find out how old Cozie was because he never really lost that puppy expression of amazement on his face.  But over the last month, she has started looking at TV.

Not in the manner that Cosmos did.  She couldn't care less about the large TV in the studio... there are much more interesting things to do in the Condo when we are up and about than obsess over the "magic window."  But I've noticed that when we are in bed late at night, lights out, that she might look at the small TV that I have perched on top of my armoire for a few minutes at a time.  Something would have to attract her attention to it before she would watch; a loud noise or such, but after no more than 5 minutes and mostly less, she would resume her normal activities of chewing and playing with her toys, annoying me while I was trying to fall asleep, etc.

Last night was different, though.  The lights were out.  I was actually thinking I would fall asleep before midnight.  And just at the end of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart during the credits, it happened.  They displayed fireworks, and the loud banging associated with them attracted Lucy.  She stopped chewing on her skunk and started watching TV.

This time was different, though.  Instead of getting bored quickly, she thoroughly enjoyed the Colbert Report.  She watched the entire 1/2 hour.  In fact, I was fighting sleep and normally just before drifting off, I turn over onto my right side (she sleeps to my right), she gets annoyed at that action, growls at me, and stalks off to sleep on the antique pink sofa in the living room.  Not last night.

I was so amazed that she watched so long that I fought off sleep for as long as I could.  (Just for the record, I had the sleep timer on my TV so that it would go off on it's own after I was 'gone.')  At 11:50, I couldn't stand it anymore.  I turned over, expecting the normal reaction, but did not get it.  She barely noticed, she was so engrossed in Mr. Colbert and whatever he was ranting about at that moment.  In fact, she was still watching when I fell off into slumber.

I'm not sure when she stopped.  The TV would have flipped off no later than 15 minutes after my own switch turned off.  I don't know if she got annoyed, was philosophical, or turned her attention to other activities.  I do know that when I woke up this morning, she was on the sofa as normal.

But how can this be?  How can I have two dogs in a row that actually appear to be intently interested in the boob tube?

It's daytime now.  Lucy is off doing something... nowhere near the television which blares almost constantly in my home as a kind of white noise to bay off the deafening silence.  But I wonder what happens tonight when we are in bed again?

28 posts in 28 days.  Today is day 10.