It Must be 2 a.m. Maggie needs to go out

Maggie has always wanted to go out in the middle of the night.  It doesn't matter how late we take her out in the evening, around 2 a.m. we hear her demand to go out.   In her younger days, Maggie would sleep on our bed usually between us and on cold nights under the covers.   When she needed to go out she would wake Roy and he would get up with her.   These days she will not sleep on the bed but prefers a rug usually in the hall outside our bedroom.   Maggie seldom barks anymore so we have to listen for her walking around on the hardwood floors.  Roy is about as deaf as Maggie so guess who hears her now.   It is so predictable that somewhere around 2 a.m.  I'll hear her little nails clicking on the floor, wandering  and trying to find one of us.   We close the door to the room across the hall from ours and sometimes I'll hear her scratching at the door.    The trouble with the 2 a.m. outing is that Maggie can't manuver the outside steps so someone has to carry her down the steps.   This is also the time that Maggie likes to wander the yard and sit.   Last night she stayed out 20 minutes just long enough for me to come wide awake and be freezing cold.   But she is so sweet when I pick her up to come in, sometimes she is trembling and she lets me hold her close and whisper I love you in her ear.   I think she hears me or maybe she just responds to a gentle touch.  I usually get a quick kiss for my efforts.