Pigs in a blanket, anyone? Do you remember those incredibly bad-for-you appetizers that consisted of a mini sausage wrapped in store-bought dough and heated till puffed in the oven, that were eerily called "Pigs in a Blanket"? (I don't remember, but Parental Unit says that she made them as part of earning a Girl Scout badge about a hundred years ago). Perhaps I digress, but maybe not. In today's New York Times, Home Section, there's a front page article about our increasing tendency to sleep with our pets, titled "Warm Nights, Cold Noses".
And the 3/4 page cover photo is of a single gal (wonder why) all cuddled up under the blankets with her potbellied pig, Trixie.
You know, I've been allowed to sleep on the bed since practically my first night here, which was something new for 'clean freak" Parental Unit, but now she says she can't imagine it any other way. But it's really only Bella (the cat) and I that are sharing her covers, unlike the gal in the article who shares her bed with not only the pig, but two kittens, three dogs and an occasional rabbit. Here's what she says about her largest bed partner: "She's a great cuddler if you lie still...but if you're restless, she gets annoyed and her hooves are very sharp...and [the gal] has the black-and-blue marks to show for it."
The benefits of being close to a living, breathing, and loving creature, at night and otherwise, are well documented: loving touches and cuddles raise levels of the hormone that makes us feel content and serve as an "...emotional balm, especially for the depressed, lonely or anxious."
So we're all warm, cuddly and happy at night and guess who has to go ruin it all? Yep, our friends at the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who published a recent study detailing all of the diseases we can get from sleeping with our furry friends. The list seems endless and a little bit scary, ranging from flea and tick bites that spread bubonic plague, to cat scratch fever and various forms of meningitis. Check out this very interesting and sometimes funny article, (with lots of pictures of cute, snoozing animals) right here: www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/garden/17pets.html?_r=1&hpw.
So what's the scoop in your house-do let your furry best friends share your bed? Like, ahem, someone we all know and love?
And the 3/4 page cover photo is of a single gal (wonder why) all cuddled up under the blankets with her potbellied pig, Trixie.
You know, I've been allowed to sleep on the bed since practically my first night here, which was something new for 'clean freak" Parental Unit, but now she says she can't imagine it any other way. But it's really only Bella (the cat) and I that are sharing her covers, unlike the gal in the article who shares her bed with not only the pig, but two kittens, three dogs and an occasional rabbit. Here's what she says about her largest bed partner: "She's a great cuddler if you lie still...but if you're restless, she gets annoyed and her hooves are very sharp...and [the gal] has the black-and-blue marks to show for it."
The benefits of being close to a living, breathing, and loving creature, at night and otherwise, are well documented: loving touches and cuddles raise levels of the hormone that makes us feel content and serve as an "...emotional balm, especially for the depressed, lonely or anxious."
So we're all warm, cuddly and happy at night and guess who has to go ruin it all? Yep, our friends at the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who published a recent study detailing all of the diseases we can get from sleeping with our furry friends. The list seems endless and a little bit scary, ranging from flea and tick bites that spread bubonic plague, to cat scratch fever and various forms of meningitis. Check out this very interesting and sometimes funny article, (with lots of pictures of cute, snoozing animals) right here: www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/garden/17pets.html?_r=1&hpw.
So what's the scoop in your house-do let your furry best friends share your bed? Like, ahem, someone we all know and love?
