Come winter, the single most prized possession in the Stacey household is the Blanket of Doom. Our Blankets of Doom are not typical fleece blankets. My mom works in an upscale decorating/design shop-type place and she got them for us over time because using her discount made them actually affordable. We have several in throw size and one queen-sized brown version I call the Chocolate Blanket of Doom that’s so extreme we don’t actually use it on a bed. When my husband’s snowmobiling from the camper and it’s thirty below zero and the little mini furnace is having a hard time keeping up, he barrel-rolls himself into the Chocolate Blanket of Doom and zonks out.

All but one of the throw sizes stay at camp, which means the one at home is very sought after. Mini seems to think it’s hers, but if the cats want the blanket, they’ve got no problem reminding her she’s the canine runt of the family.

Mini beseeching me for help as Gizmo slowly knits the blanket away from her:

A rare photo of Jinx and Mini together. Jinx must have really wanted the blanket to tolerate being so close to the dog. And you can see Mini trying to get Dad to make the cat stop crowding her.

And sometimes Jinx doesn’t share because she’s the alpha dog, so to speak, and she doesn’t have to.