As a kid I had dogs, but our area wasn't kind to them. Mom had allergies so we couldn't bring them in the house. They had a doghouse, but our neighborhood was prone to flooding and sometimes (back then) the predictions for flooding rains just weren't made very well. Eventually, after losing three or four pets (including a bunny, some chicks, and a couple of dogs) I realized that pets in our area were ephemeral and I lost interest. Now, I have the time but my wife has allergies and I won't keep a pet outside in bad weather any more so... no more pets for Doc.