Are your dogs and cats family members, not just pets? Then you're bridging species and creating multi-species families. But why? How do we respect, yet transcend, species? What are the mystical, cultural, practical, and even cosmic implications for our busy lives, our communities, and our evolving planet? In these wry, thought-provoking essays and comic tales an acclaimed writer explores news ways of thinking about the human-animal bond while building a full life with her animals - one challenging idea, one leap of love, one good joke at a time.