By far the tMiM post that asked and received the least quarter was my dog essay, which concluded: while I find dogs to be overbearing, neurotic beasts who bite people, chase cyclists, piss on the carpet and unplug your alarm clock — I still love their smell, so to speak.

As if! One point I forgot: just be careful you don’t trip and fall over these malodorous creatures:

More than 86,000 Americans wind up in the emergency room every year because of falls related to cats or dogs. That’s about 1% of all fall-related ER visits. Nearly 90% of the injuries were dog-related, and females were twice as likely as males to be injured. Here’s more:

Twenty-six percent of falls involving dogs occurred while persons were walking them, and the most frequent circumstances were falling or tripping over a dog (31.3%) and being pushed or pulled by a dog (21.2%). Falling over a pet item (e.g., a toy or food bowl) accounted for 8.8% of fall injuries. Approximately 38.7% involved other or unknown circumstances.

One of my favorite dog songs is “Jessie” by Paw, from their Dragline LP. Unplugged version just below: