Maisie has a bed waiting only inches away.

It is soft, low to the floor, and large enough for the eight-year-old Shih Tzu mix to curl up without touching the kennel walls.

But Maisie rarely uses it.

Instead, she stands beside the wall with her head lowered.

Much of the fur along her belly and both sides of her body is gone. The exposed skin underneath is red, inflamed, crusted in places, and still being treated for severe dermatitis.

After several minutes of standing, Maisie’s eyes begin to close.

Her head sinks lower.

Her legs tremble.

Eventually, exhaustion takes over.

Her knees start to bend.

Her belly moves closer to the bedding.

Then Maisie suddenly jerks awake.

Her legs straighten again.

She remains standing.

Soon her eyes close once more.

The strange cycle repeats until one thing becomes painfully clear:

Maisie desperately wants to sleep. Lying down is the part her body still cannot tolerate.

At First, the Empty Bed Seems Strange

Most exhausted shelter dogs eventually seek the softest place available.

Maisie does the opposite.

She may walk beside the bed.

She may sniff it.

Sometimes she places a paw on the edge.

But when it is time to rest, she chooses to remain standing.

The behavior initially raises several possibilities.

Perhaps the bed feels unstable.

Perhaps stepping onto it is difficult.

Perhaps Maisie simply prefers the cooler floor.

Then staff watch what happens when she actually tries to lower herself.

That is when the problem becomes clearer.

Maisie Begins the Motion Normally

Her front legs bend.

Her hindquarters start dropping.

Her body moves toward the floor.

Then the exposed skin along her abdomen and side approaches the surface.

Maisie stops.

Sometimes she immediately rises again.

Other times she gets almost all the way down before suddenly pushing herself upright.

She does not appear unable to understand how to lie down.

She appears unable to finish.

Severe Skin Disease Can Make Ordinary Contact Painful

Dermatitis is often associated with itching.

But severely inflamed skin can hurt too.

When the skin barrier becomes damaged, areas may become raw, cracked, crusted, infected, or extremely sensitive.

Pressure can hurt.

Friction can hurt.

Stretching the skin during movement can hurt.

Heat and moisture trapped against a surface can increase discomfort in some cases.

For Maisie, lying down means placing large areas of her affected body directly against something.

Even a soft bed cannot eliminate that contact.

Her Belly Has Almost No Fur Left to Protect It

Normally, fur provides a layer between skin and the environment.

Maisie has lost much of that layer across the areas she would naturally place against bedding.

When she lowers her body, the inflamed skin is much more directly exposed to pressure and friction.

A bed that feels soft to a human hand may still be intolerable against damaged skin.

So Maisie stands.

Standing Creates Another Problem

Maisie is already tired.

Remaining upright requires continuous muscle activity.