Bow Wowzzzzz…

Don’t just let sleeping dogs lie. Study them! A video of a narcoleptic poodle named Skeeter has been making the Internet rounds. Skeeter falls asleep every time he gets excited, which means he collapses before he even finishes his dinner. But it turns out that his sadly hilarious struggles aren’t new. Scientists at Stanford University’s Center for Narcolepsy have been studying doggie dozing for 30 years in an attempt to uncover the causes of human sleep disorders. Their work helped determine that narcolepsy may be linked to the lack of a brain chemical called hypocretin. Now they’re trying to find out exactly why the chemical disappears and if there’s any way to replace it. Maybe someday narcoleptics of all species will benefit from the unrousable Dachshunds and sleep-fighting Dobermans who lend their talents to Stanford’s research—as well as to videos of their own. —Lauren Aaronson