Oh, Zoe!

I miss the dog. I miss her little furry face. I miss that little yip she gave whenever she was annoyed. I miss the little wag her stumpy tail had . . . although it's been years since we saw it.

I miss the way she kept the kitchen floor clean.

I just had no idea that even in her advanced arthritic age, she was doing such a tremendous job of keeping the floor spotless. Apparently I thought we lived just that cleanly. We don't. Look, that dog could not see, could not hear, could not smell. If some bit of snack fell to the floor, we had to get down on our hands and knees and thump the floor so she would feel the vibration. Apparently, that was all for her amusement in her senior years because, I'm telling you, now that she's gone, the floor's a mess -- Play-Doh (brand modeling clay, "Molded results will vary by age and skill of child."), spaghetti, cracker bits, dust, crusty cheese, crusty bread. Good heavens! It's no wonder she remained slightly overweight despite her low-cal senior dog food.

So, I am weighing the pros and cons of a new puppy. CONS: house training, puppy chewing, barking, yipping, letting outside in 30 below weather, vet bills, kenneling bills. PROS: cleaner kitchen floor.

Let me think.