living with animal lovers

I am surrounded by them! Everyone (including Mike) in my house wants a pet, particularly a dog. They would all like a big dog. They beg or ask almost daily (okay, Mike doesn't, but the kids do). Maddie even went so far as saying a couple weeks ago, "Mom, you could find a new Dad and kids and then we can get a dog!" Yikes. I am replacable, I guess, by a hairy 4-legged creature.

Okay, so in general, I am not an animal friendly person. I'd rather not have any creatures in the house. But little and even medium size dogs I can tolerate (more so in someone else's house!) I really would rather have no pets, let me tell you why.
*brand new house. I'd rather keep my cabinets and wood floors and white trim and doors in tact for a while. The kids are capable of causing enough damage, but at least they don't chew on wood. Or have claws.
*the expense. The dog, the cage, the food, the vet. Why not just have a baby? Oh wait, we are : )
*the hair. That's what Maddie and I are for. Combing our hair is enough for me.
*the smell. I don't mean stinky. I just mean the smell of "dog". Dirty diapers are stinky enough, aren't they??
*guess who will end up having to deal with the messes. and cleaning up the messes. yep, me.
*who will be stuck at home all day with it? me.
We have enough neighbors who let their dogs poop on our lawn, we don't need our own dog to help us out in that department.

Just thought I'd clarify the dog situation in our house : )