"Well," he looks down at the pair of animals, who have now taken to exploring in the short distance that the tether to their counterparts allow. "they're sort of...part of us, right? And mine's a dog. Why isn't yours a dog?"

From under the table, Fausta huffs out a doggy laugh. "Does she look like a dog?" When her head emerges again, she hops over Spike's feet and turns around to look at him. "Can we go outside now? It's boring in here."