One bed, three happy dogs

If you're a pet parent, then you know how important it is to keep them happy and healthy. Part of that responsibility is providing them with a comfortable place to lay down and hang out. One would think that finding the right bed would be as easy as going to Petsmart and plopping down a small fortune. You know what? It's not that easy especially when you have a dog as big as a horse. The following story tells the wagging tail adventure of one dog and numerous beds.

We begin our story almost eight years ago when Travis and I found out that we were about to become Great Dane parents for the first time. Just as with the arrival of a human newborn, we had lots to do and lots to buy. On the list - a comfy bed so that our new bundle of love would have a soft place to sleep. We actually bought Sedona two beds. One for her crate...

...and one for our bedroom.

The one in the bedroom resided at the foot of our bed next to the weasel cage. She slept there every night and obviously loved every minute of it.

But alas, it came time for each of these beds to go, mostly because she decided to tear at them and make them non-functional. She did, however, find other places to sleep.

What's more cozy than the chihuahua bed, right? Unfortunately, it wasn't long before she out grew it.

As Sedona grew and we moved around, it became necessary to upgrade her bed. At a community yard sale, my friend sold me her old futon mattress for a mere $25! Hence, bed number three - the plaid futon.

Now this futon was heaven for her, and lucky for us, our bedroom was big enough to accommodate it. She LOVED her new bed, and we were happy to provide her with some much needed support for her big joints. She's just shy of her second birthday in the above picture.

As time went on and Sedona got older, the futon grew flatter. A few years after getting it, Sedona got sick and had several accidents on it, and that was the end of the plaid futon. We wanted to replace her bed with an equally comfortable one, so we found a mattress store that actually agreed to make us a custom futon for under $200! SCORE! Introducing futon number two and overall bed number four:

Now this futon was awesome because it was smaller than her previous one so it took up less space, but at the same time it completely held her entire body.

And I gotta say, she really enjoyed her bed for many, many years.

Then, as is par for the course in our lovely tale, this futon went bye-bye, too. As Sedona aged, her joints started to become a bit of a problem for her, and unfortunately the medicine we gave her to ease the pain caused uncontrollable diarrhea. Oh yeah...there was no recovering from that one. We threw it out.

After futon number two found itself in the dumpster, I was once again on the hunt for another bed. I wanted to get her a similar futon, but the ones I kept finding were way beyond my budget. My friend actually found this gal on Esty who makes beds specifically for Great Danes. Her store is called Bow Wow Beds, and her concept is really simple: stuff one of her handmade duck canvas beds with pillows. Not bad, right? Right.

Sedona did enjoy her bed, but our new house is tiled as you can see from the above photo. As much as we stuffed that bed, it didn't seem to support her joints as well as her futons used to. Plus, with her advanced age, we really felt that she should enjoy a really plush bed. Off to hunt for the perfect futon that wouldn't break our bank. After a little research, I found one for only $150 that got RAVE comfort reviews! Drum roll, please...

Ta-da! Look at that lush micro-suede full-sized futon mattress. Isn't it a beauty? This time around, we were a little smarter. In order to ensure that this one lasts a LONG time, we covered it with a waterproof vinyl mattress protector. This way if any of the dogs have an accident on it, I can just take off the cranberry futon cover, wash it and wipe down any remaining mess off the vinyl.

We think Sedona likes her new bed, but you can be your own judge.

She's been sleeping on her new bed for five nights now, and she hasn't limped once after getting up. YAY! Mission accomplished.

And remember her previous pillow stuffed bed? Well, a certain little man LOVES it, and it's now his bed. One bed made for three happy pups :)

Have a great weekend everyone!