The Ruby Rose Report: Snuffle Mat

 

In response to my Wordless Wednesday photo, many of you said you weren't sure what I was lying upon.

It was a Snuffle Mat.

An entire mat made of snuffle.

It is also an extraordinary snuggle mat because treats appear magically down the bottom.

My parents like to have a snack a couple of hours after eating. Like all types of coupling humans attempt to do at night, we dogs do not allow it. Going back to Foley, we dogs have, when our parents are in their living room chair eating, have jumped on their chest and said: "Can I have some, can I have some, can I have some, can I have some, and when I get some, then repeat the entire exercise a minute later. 

We all had different ways of behaving during human snack time. Foley would sit on the arm of the chair and patiently wait for a bite of food (until she thought she had waited long enough, then she let out an ear-piercing yelp). Pocket was not food driven and was happy with a small plate. River needed a challenge: She had a bone stuffed with treats, a Kong, and a lick mat. 

I am between Pocket and River regarding appetite, and I never miss a meal but delicately eat, like a Florida lady at the Cracker Barrell. They started me with food stuffed in things, like Kongs and bones, but I am not food driven to the point that I will work up a pant to eat. I didn't like the lick mat, which was too much like doing the dishes. 

I have already reported about my tornado brain game, which I solved in record time. I still like to spin it around, but I can solve the tornado faster than my parents can chew, so there was the same problem.

Then, while I was eating snacks, they would throw treat for me, and I would run after them, which I loved, until, two hours later, I threw them up all over the bed (the day after sheet washing day to boot.

That is when they turned to my Snuffle Mat. They are pieces of fabric sewn into different shapes depending on the mat. Treats appear at the bottom of the mat, and a dog has to hunt them down. 

When I get tired, I lie down, and when refreshed, I wake up, and the treats are still on the mat! I have always found it complete. It's like the Hannakuh Candles, but it's a mat! And smells better.

I have heard that treats are put in the mat by parents, but that makes less sense than parents buying Christmas gifts, putting them under the tree, and pretending they are for Santa.

Some souls will believe anything.