We gotta get a CAT??!!!

Alright, if someone else doesn't write something this is going to turn into a Penn Blog. Eeek... But I've just got to share this story with you all. A couple nights ago, Jeremiah was putting Signe to bed. After he sang her the lullaby "Tell Me Why" she asked to sing it to him "silly". So she makes up her own version, which went like this: "Tell me why--papa and mama get to sleep together. Tell me why the boys get to sleep together. Tell me why--I'm all alone. Tell me why, papa, tell me why." At this point Jeremiah's heart was so broken and the tears had blurred his vision (and apparently his decision) that he told Signe we could get her a CAT this summer. Background: Signe had an imaginary cat as toddler (named Pootie). Signe has asked for a cat (or if not a cat, she'd settle for a kitten) for at least the past 2 Christmases (stuffed cats have NOT pacified her). She says everytime she can make a wish (like when blowing out birthday candles etc.--she asks for a sister or a cat). Recently at a school event she reported to me that she had to stand up and say her name and one thing about herself. She stood up and said, "My name is Signe and my mom won't let me have a cat." Are we terrible parents? Yesterday she brought home an art project. It was a piece of paper with several wide different colored stripes going across it. In each stripe was a different sentence. Here is what it says" Signe likes to read, I love cats, Got two little brothers, Never got a cat, (then there is a picture of a cat), Everybody likes me." So please, all you wise sages of the previous generation, tell me what to do! I do NOT like animals and I don't want any in my house. Jeremiah says if we get a cat, we get a dog! How can I possibly deny my most pitiful cat-loving daughter the one desire of her pure heart! How can I possibly live with a detestable (sorry to you animal loving people) animal? --Siri