The first time I met Amy was Oct. 24, 2005.

Ben and I had arrived in Manhattan (Kansas) a couple of days earlier, and our first official function was to serve as the entertainment at a meeting of the Canadian Studies club at Kansas State University. They wanted to see what real hosers were like, and Ben and I wanted free sandwiches, so it worked out well.

Amy said something about being a French professor and I said French food sucked.

At some point we got talking about dogs and food safety, and Amy mentioned that she let her dog sleep on her bed (below) and I said that was a microbiological nightmare.

Or something like that.

Fred Landeg, the U.K.’s acting Chief Veterinary Officer, said today dogs should not be allowed to sleep in their owners’ beds or even in the same room in case they pass on diseases, such as campylobacter and salmonella as well as exotic diseases.

"As a veterinary surgeon I would never advise people to keep dogs in their bedroom."

I was being dramatic when I first met Amy. Our dogs sleep in the bedroom but not on the bed.