For the last 6 days, we've had guests - of the four-legged variety. Our kids are on vacation and we've added one dog and two cats to our home - one which, to most observers, would seem to already house more than it's share of animals. Having our own three dogs and two cats, one might assume that bringing in an additional three pets would bring six days of chaos, not just flying hair and a lot more dust.

This has not been the case and I'm struck by how different this experience (as well as prior experience caring for our grandanimals) has been, compared to the experience of having human house guests. First of all, with pet guests, there's no house cleaning involved; no last minute swiffering or elbow polishing of the bathroom mirror. As a matter of fact, chasing dust bunnies and hunting for crumbs between the sofa cushions are games the dogs love to play. And, a new litter box gives the cats an opportunity to see how far outside the box they can scratch the litter. Clearly, for these guys, a spotless house is no fun at all. With the dogs and cats, there are no special meals to prepare and there's no need to worry about wine being spilled on the new tablecloth. Just open a bag and pour; anything spilled on the floor is a welcome snack for later. Last, but not least, there's no carting folks around to see the sights.

For the dogs, a nice walk to sniff around at yellow snow is pure entertainment and the cats are content to stay at home and enjoy the change of scenery. It's not that we don't like having friends stay with us for a few days. We do. We have always tried to be a good hosts and, at the end of their stay, our guests have always been appropriately appreciative (although, I'm happy to report, not one has ever licked our faces or grabbed our sleeves to take us along). As much as we may have enjoyed our human guests, we've never felt really sad when they've left and, certainly, have never wished that they could've stayed for another week or two.

Tonight, with only three dogs and two cats, the house, is sure going to feel empty.