There are four in the bed…

I like to keep up with the headlines. Even the ridiculous ones. An American paper had what I consider a ridiculous one titled: Letting pets sleep next to you can make you ill, experts say.

Now I am not an authority on such things, so I went researching again.

One of the potentially risky effects of this is that you might catch bubonic plaque according to this article.

The plague – really – from sleeping next to your pet ??????

It’s more likely that you’ll get hit by a truck in your backyard.

I sleep with the dog, and two cats. The only problem I have had with doing this is actually having enough room to move around the bed. Which, considering I have a king size bed tells you who has the majority vote in my house.

Move? Why?

Growing up both my children slept with animals and I am glad they did. The bond they formed with those animals was deep and both of them possess a caring attitude, and empathy for animals.

Now go away !!

Neither caught the plague.

Though they did get measles, chicken pox, the flu, colds, and one had whooping cough. All caught from other people.

Maybe they should put out a warning about letting people sleep in your bed.

Charlie at rest as a wee baby.

Yes – according to the research I did, you can get ringworm, cat scratch fever, real worms, bacterial infections, and rabies.

But you can get ringworm from people.

A cat is more likely to scratch you when it’s awake and angry about something than curled up snug in the bed.

Real worms such as tapeworms you can get from fleas, and I have been in a few houses that had fleas but no dogs or cats.

Recently my vet told me that fleas have likes and dislikes. If they like cats and dogs, they’re unlikely to relish the taste of you apparently.

Bacterial infections – well I got Campylobacter from a chicken sandwich.

Rabies – doesn’t seem to me that the dog is likely to go mad and bite you in bed.

For now at least I shall continue to bunk down with my furry friends – when they move over that is.