My Strange and Wonderful Spaniel: Part 993

So, if you read yesterdays post you will know that Otis went in for the big surgery. Everything went well and aside from being very drugged and sleepy last night, he's doing well. He had the longest pee I have ever seen come out of him this morning which is not surprising since he didn't go to the bathroom from the time I got him home yesterday at 5 until almost 8 this morning. He's already had some water and his pain killer and soon I'll give him some breakfast. Strangely enough, Otis is not the only one impacted by his surgery. Hermione has completely taken me by surprise by her reaction to Otis being, well, not quite himself.
When I arrived home last night, Otis bundled up in a blanket since the temperatures were absolutely freezing, I really didn't have time to observe Hermione and Otis. I had enough time to wolf down my supper and run upstairs to give my uncle a massage. After his massage, I came back downstairs to find everyone curled up on the couch, Otis still curled up in his blanket. Mr. K had been keeping everyone company while I was busy because Otis is not allowed to jump off of things or do stairs by himself. I don't think he had any intention of going anywhere last night though, as he was all shivery and so sleepy. He was so drugged he didn't even want the french fry offered to him. He carried it in his mouth, but just couldn't muster up the energy to eat it.
As for Hermione, she was curled up next to Otis, but I thought it was because of the soft, velvety blanket he was wrapped up in. This particular blanket is mine, but if I ever use it to cover myself up, they both love it. It usually stays off of the couch as our couch is incredibly furry, but Otis's surgery meant he got to use the blanket.
Before bed, I put everyone outside, except for Otis because he was just not interested. When everyone came back inside Rufio came into the living room to join us. He jumped up on the couch beside Otis and Hermione ran him off. It didn't really surprise me because sometimes if she's on the couch and Rufio comes too close to her, she growls at him. Usually he ignores her because he knows she's completely harmless. Not to mention, he's basically the same size as her. After Rufio hopped off the couch, Hermione jumped down too. I assumed it was to play with her bone or to yell at me to take her to bed, but instead she tracked Rufio down and started growling at him some more. Then, she backed up to the couch right under Otis and continued growling. It took me a minute, but I soon realised that she was protecting Otis from Rufio. I called Rufio out of the living room and gave him a treat and Hermione hopped back up beside Otis. She settled in next to him, but kept her eye on the living room entrance. No kitties were coming close with Hermione on the job.
Rufio was not the only one she was protecting Otis from.
Since he was so sleepy and he isn't allowed to do stairs anyway, I decided to carry the bundled Otis up to bed shortly after Hermione's confrontation with the cat. I gently scooped him up and began walking slowly up to bed. The entire way Hermione leaped into the air as high as she could go and nudged me with her nose. She would whack my legs with her front paws and ran up the stairs ahead of me only to turn around and watch me come the rest of the way up. She carried on hitting me and leaping until I got into the bedroom and laid the still sleeping Otis on to my bed. She then launched herself on to the bed, sniffed him all over and only when she was satisfied that I hadn't hurt him, did she go into her crate for the night.
She squawked a few times at me after I closed her door, I think she wanted to sleep with Otis, but I told her "quiet" gently and she settled in too.
Never did I think that Her Royal Highness, Princess Hermione Sophia would show any kind of nurturing towards anything. I knew Otis was bonded to her, but I under estimated how bonded she is to him. As I type this, they are both snuggled in beside me, Hermione making sure to be on guard for any kitty intruders she may have to tell to go away.