Identification of a mutation in the gene encoding HCRT receptor 2 (HCRTR2 or OX2R) as the cause of canine narcolepsy [3] and demonstration that HCRT ligand-deficient mice exhibited periods of behavioral arrest that resembled both human and canine narcolepsy [4] implicated the HCRT system in sleep/wake control well before the first small molecule HCRT receptor antagonists [5], [6], [7] were described. The gene discussed is HCRTR2; the disease is narcolepsy.