When I was growing up I lived in a very small terraced house and the living room had two armchairs and a small settee.
We had a dog that very often slept on the settee so Mother put a blanket over it to keep it clean. I suppose it would be called a 'throw' these days.
When we had visitors the blanket was taken off so they could sit down and hopefully remain dog hair free.
I thought nothing of it at the time but now I would be horrified if somebody offered me the dog's bed to sit on.
When I was growing up we had a spaniel and she had a blanket folded up one end of the settee. That space was just for her., nowhere else on the settee.