Years ago, as a result of what I now identify as a moment of temporary insanity, Stan and I came up with the brilliant idea to get our boys, then three and seven, a dog.  Looking back, we had extremely idealistic, even romantic, visions of our boys learning great responsibility, working together and maturing,  as they willingly took on the grand responsibility of feeding, walking, loving, and bonding with the little cherub of a pet that would come into our home as the fifth member of the Wilson Household.