I found out how thunder phobic Mimi is yesterday.  I was doing something I rarely do.  I was lying down some time around 4 pm on a Sunday watching a video someone loaned me.  Mimi was lying on the floor by the foot of the bed, that is until the thunder.  It was an instantaneous and coordinated choreography.  Mimi flew through the air and landed on my chest grabbing me with those flip-flop paws of hers as if she’d practiced the move for weeks.  Eeegads! Was I surprised!

And it didn’t end there.  We had a lot of panting and snuggling.  At one point, she stood over my head, and I was concerned about many things.  Having a paw smack me in the eye was one of them.  I gingerly disengaged from that position, and decided it was time to go outside.  The rain had subsided, and the dogs needed a little fresh air.  I needed a little breathing room from my space cadet.  We stopped at the door, though, and I gave her a helping of  Rescue Remedy.  Though I think it was too late in the process for it to help much.

So I went outside with my shadow.  She hugged me and hugged me and hugged me.  All that hugging and following me around and hugging led me to believe that she wanted me to come inside.

I thought she wanted me to come inside. Then there was a time when I felt very grounded.  Actually, my feet were under Mimi’s behind.  This made it very hard for me to move.  But that face is so darn sweet I found it difficult to walk away, even if I could.

Then there was the final desperate act of communication by Mimi.  She couldn’t get me to cooperate by following her inside.  So she decided to work the message from the inside out.  First she tried the Peek-A-Boo method for getting me to come in.  Didn’t work.  And neither did the “I’m in here and you should be too” look.

I thought I had thunder phobic dogs before, and maybe so.  It’s just that Mimi reaches a level of anxiety that is outstanding comparatively speaking.  So because of that, I decided to invest in one of those garments that are supposed to help anxiety.  I ordered the anxiety wrap and they suggested I also get the anxiety face wrap.  So I did.  I figured it would save on shipping, and the woman who wrote to me after I filled out her survey said she has a Border Collie and understands the reaction, and said Mimi would do best with the whole get-up.  I rarely fall prey to upselling or sales tactics – not counting buying a vehicle – so that I conceded so quickly to her suggestion surprised me as much as Mimi’s flying leap.

So we will see how that Anxiety Wrap works.  I hope it lives up to its claims.