The Dog Who Made His Own Rules
When the Morris family first adopted Spike, a handsome English springer spaniel, they had a clear and sensible plan. Like many families, they decided he would be a “downstairs dog.” The bedrooms upstairs were for the humans; the cozy living room downstairs would be his domain. They set up a comfortable bed for him, put up the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs, and on his first night, they went to bed, confident in their well-laid plans.
But Spike, it turned out, had a very different idea of how things should go.
“He whined for a couple of minutes before jumping over the gate in the dark and trotting up into my parents’ room and straight up onto the bed!” his human sister, Catherine Morris, recalled. That single, decisive act of defiance set the precedent for the next nine years. From that night on, Spike was not a downstairs dog. He was a cherished, card-carrying member of the upstairs sleeping committee, a master of snuggling who would push his way under the covers to get as close as physically possible to his beloved people.
For years, that was their happy routine. During the day, Spike was a whirlwind of energy, a blur of fur chasing tennis balls for hours on end. At night, he would dutifully make his way up the stairs to claim his rightful spot on the bed, a warm and comforting presence in the quiet of the night.
The Unthinkable Happens
Now, at 14 years old, the silver has started to grace Spike’s muzzle, and his once-boundless energy has softened into a gentle, dignified calm. Recently, the family’s world was rocked when the unthinkable happened. Spike suffered two debilitating strokes, a terrifying ordeal that left them fearing they would lose their faithful old friend.
But the faithful dog wasn’t ready to leave them yet. His body was weakened, but his spirit was not. For days after his second stroke, he couldn’t even stand on his own, and his family became his legs, carrying him gently around the house and garden. With a determination that left his family in awe, the senior dog slowly and painstakingly began to heal, eventually relearning how to walk. It was a miracle, a testament to his incredible resilience and his deep love for his family.
However, while his spirit was willing, his body now had its limits. The strokes had left him too weak to reliably navigate the stairs. The staircase, once his nightly pathway to his favorite place in the world, had become a dangerous obstacle. With heavy hearts, his family knew they had to block off his access to the upstairs bedrooms for his own safety.
A Promise Kept on the Sofa
They knew Spike. They knew that his weakened legs would not stop his determined heart from trying to climb those stairs to be with them. The thought of him attempting the climb and falling was unbearable. But the thought of him spending his nights alone downstairs, whining for the family he had slept with for nine years, was just as heartbreaking.So, they came up with a new plan, an act of pure, unconditional love. If Spike could no longer come to them, they would come to him.Now, a new nightly routine has taken hold in the Morris household. Each night, a different member of the family—Catherine or one of her parents—takes a turn sleeping on the pull-out sofa in the living room, right beside Spike’s bed. They have created a rotating schedule of love, ensuring that their old boy never has to spend a single night alone. “Since I moved back home, I’ve joined the rotation so all in all we get a bit more sleep between the three of us,” Catherine said.
An Unbreakable Bond
The bond between Spike and his dad is particularly special. “They’re absolutely inseparable,” Catherine said. “My dad calls him ‘old bean’ and they’re always chatting away.” At night, when it’s his turn on the sofa, Spike’s dad takes special care to make sure his old friend is comfortable and content.
“My dad will also bring Spike his water and food to the sofa and feed him by hand to make sure he gets his medicines and keeps his strength up,” she added. It is a beautiful, quiet ritual of love and devotion, a gentle reversal of roles where the human now cares for his aging best friend with the same tenderness that the dog has shown them for so many years.
It’s clear that Spike loves his family more than anything in the world, and it’s just as clear that his family will do anything to keep him happy and comfortable in his golden years. They are repaying a lifetime of loyalty with a level of devotion that is truly inspiring. “We love our old boy so much and are so glad to have him in our lives,” Catherine said. “Hopefully, we have made up for his not so good start in life by providing all the love in the world.”
