Dog as Transitional Object

I knew a 52-year-old man with a 26-year-old girlfriend, who still slept with her teddy bear, so by the principle of transitivity he too slept with the teddy bear.

My childhood transitional object was an autograph hound named Harry. I had drawn a smile on his face and whenever I felt scared in the night, I looked at smiling Harry and felt better.

Recently I was kissing my present-day transitional dog—my 15-year-old beagle, Casey—goodnight, and I noticed that when Casey sleeps, his mouth turns up, a lot like Harry’s did.

There was a period after my divorce that I had this boyfriend, and I sometimes stayed at his house.

When I slept at home, cuddled up with Casey, I would think of said boyfriend, which helped me fall asleep.

But when I slept chez boyfriend, I found it especially hard to fall asleep. So I would close my eyes and imagine being in my own bed, cuddled with Casey, which helped me fall asleep.

Go figure.

What reversals have you experienced?