Whenever I complain about coming home to an empty apartment, my pet-owning friends insist that I get a cat or dog. My response: why don't I just throw in the towel altogether and shoot myself in the head?! While I know they love their pets and only want what's best for me, and while I love animals, too, I just find the prospect of substituting the need for human companionship with another species, a little disturbing. Sure, I could sleep with my cat or dog, but is that really what's best for all of us? If that takes away the loneliness, why should I date ever again? Perhaps my heart is cold and shriveled and that's why I am single in the first place. And maybe a litter box, and hair, and feces isn't really too big of a price to pay for having another mammal in my space. Just for today, I am open to the prospect of being a pet-owner.