This picture reminds me of how Bushy Tail always waited at the door for me to come home. Whether it was in my apartment before I met Michael, the apartment Michael and I rented, or our house, when I got home Bushy was always there waiting for me. I always thought he heard me/us unlocking the door and ran over, but when my mother stayed at the apartment, she told me that about an hour to half an hour before I got home, Bushy would go to the door and start to wait for me. If I was late, or if we were on vacation, he would sit there for hours, and then start to cry for me.
The first time I went away to a conference and left Michael home alone with him, Michael said Bushy Tail stopped eating after the first day. He just sat at the door waiting for me. After the second day when I would call, Michael would hold the phone to Bushy Tail's ear, and I would tell him to eat. We would do this whenever I was away. It seemed to help a little but when it was time to go to bed Michael had to carry him into the bedroom. During the night, he would have to go get him, because Bushy would leave the bedroom, go to the door to the apartment, and start crying for me.
I didn't really believe him until I got home. Michael had clearly not slept while I was gone. He said he was basically up every other hour, trying to convince Bushy to come back to bed and that I would come home.
One of the hardest parts of his being gone is coming home and not finding him right by the door waiting for me. He was at the door waiting for me up until the very last time I left the house and came back in.
This picture also reminds me of how much Bushy Tail liked to sit in the doorway when we got our house during the summer and watch what was going on outside. When we first moved in, the screen door did not have a screen all the way to the ground. The screen started about two feet up. The mail slot, however, was broken, and didn't close, so Bushy Tail would sit and look through the mail slot. I know I have a picture, but I can't find it. It made us laugh, and when we went to get a new screen door, we got this one, because we wanted the screen or window to be full length so Bushy Tail could sit or even lay down in the doorway and watch the outside.
He enjoyed that till the end. Sometimes I would leave the door open even though I didn't really want it open, just so he could look out.
