It’s a matter of perspective. For the past several years, I haven’t had a pet, unless you consider bees pets, and I don’t. I’ve had dogs, cats, turtles, hamsters, fish. We had dogs who had puppies when I was young, ducks briefly, and then cats my adult life until now.

None could replace Shirley.

I adopted her and her sister, Oreo, as kittens. Oreo was lost in the wilds of Nissequogue, NY. Then we got Loki, a black and serious cat.

They lived on a catamaran with us, traveled to lighthouses and moved north to Adirondacks. They accommodated easily to their surroundings.

My last cat, Elli, died young and unexpectedly during the pandemic and I opted to take a pause.

Now there are signs we have a new pet. We went away for a few days and my indoor arugula plant was nibbled to the stem.

We caught one mouse but that wasn’t the culprit because this morning the dust in a joint between the concrete floor in the basement was pulled out in tufts.

It may be another mouse or it could be a self- sufficient pet. It’s all a matter of perspective.