I have never had pets that lived in the house. At least, not since childhood.

Sure, we’ve had pets at our house. We had a dog for many years. The dog stayed outdoors.

And, now we have a cat. And, the cat stays outdoors.

The cat stays outside for a couple of reasons. First, I’m allergic to cats. Really allergic. And second, we didn’t choose to have a cat for a pet, the cat chose to have us for her humans.

Actually, the cat came out of the woods and birthed a litter of kittens on our back porch.

Twice!

After the second batch of kittens, I took the cat to the vet and had her fixed. When I brought her home, I expected her to run off back into the woods. But, she stayed.

And, she has been an excellent outdoor cat ever since. She protects our house from vicious birds and small mammals, often leaving their mutilated remains on the porch as a love offering.

When we sold the house in the country and moved into town, I brought the cat with us and put her in our fenced-in backyard. Although the fence didn’t keep her in the backyard, still she stayed and has seemed to adapt nicely to being a “city” cat.

But she still stays outside (okay, I let her stay in the garage on particularly cold nights).

Now, Tami has a pet. A dog. And when we get married, I suppose she will bring the dog with her to live with us.

That’s right. She comes with a dog!

It’s a little Pekingese dog named Chloe. Chloe also has a middle name that I can’t remember.

But, Chloe stays in the house. And, if Chloe goes outside in the cold, she wears a little pink sweater to stay warm even though she has lots of long Pekingese dog hair.

So, I guess if I’m going to have Tami, then I’m going to have the dog. The indoor dog. The indoor dog with a middle name and wearing a pink sweater.

Although we haven’t talked about living arrangements for our pets, it’s probably not going to be an option for the dog to stay in the garage with the cat.

Still, if you really think about it, maybe I’m getting a better deal with this marriage than Tami is. After all, I come with two kids!

But, I’ll let you decide…