here i come in, guns blazing on the "get a dog" thing....a dog is an attention magnet....especially a woman magnet....or man..if you're a woman.....when i had tippy, people flocked to him...then introduced themselves and voila!! i made lots of lasting friends though tippy..in fact, when he died, i got sympathy cards and notes from all over the US and Europe. (i'm a photographer and met lots of people in workshops, on jobs and such..tippy was always with me)GET A DOG!!'xoxox pat