Ace is a 2-year-old Chihuahua mix that my girlfriend Shurron and I rescued from the San Diego Animal Shelter over a year ago. As you can see from the picture, Ace loves his blanket…that’s right, there is actually a dog under there. Ace cannot and will not be without his blanket. Sure, a towel mistakenly left on the floor will work in a pinch, but he prefers his green Target baby blanket.

I think we have all had animals that were attached to dirty blankets, but Ace actually burrows in his. Now if I’m not mistaken, burrowing isn’t a behavior normally associated with the K9. My latest conclusion and explanation for this interesting behavior is that Ace could in fact be part hamster.

So when did Ace’s love affair with the blanket begin? I’m not quite sure, since he was already a year old when we got him. However, I can tell that we were clued into his affinity for the blanket on his first morning in his new home after we first got him from the shelter. Ace had gone to sleep in a little doggie bed we bought for him, but when Shurron and I woke up the next morning, Ace was MIA, or “missing in action” for those of you who don’t speak Mission Impossible.

A quick search of our tiny 300-square-foot studio (we have since upgraded), revealed Ace to be burrowed under a blanket on the floor next to our bed. The odd part was that the blanket had been on the couch. Ace had actually pulled the blanket down off the couch and burrowed under it. We took the hint and bought him his first blanket the same day. More than a year later, Ace and his blanket are still together, happy as can be.