Sleeping With Dogs

I've been sleeping with the dogs this fall, especially as it gets cold. Nothing brings the animal fraternity closer than cold or hunger, I think. One dog is usually down by my feet, behind my knees, while the other is alongside, stretched out like a human. More often than not, I wake up with a dog's head next to my own on a pillow, and the dog alarm clock is probably as infallible as any wake up call, although that licking on my neck or hands is at the edge of my tolerance, I appreciate their gesture. Most important, the dogs are warm and the want to be next to me, pushing against me, wedged in tight. They seem to look forward to bedding down for the night and once lodged in, they seldom move all night. I guess they can be dirty, so I tend to brush them more, knowing that they are going to jump onto my bed. They are a bit hard on the bedding, without a doubt, and I am not wild about their breath and the ocasional fart. Truth is, they flatulate less than my wife does, sleep cozier and without question are more appreciative of my company than the wife. Sincce we never have sex since our daughter arrived thirteen years ago, the wife and dogs are even on that score. So, now, here's what I am wondering: should I tell her that I'm moving to my own bed, that it is either she and the dogs and deal with it, or do I deprive myself of their company, and the dogs one of their great pleasures by relegating them back to the sofa? So who will suffer more when the family gets back together, the dogs or the wife? It has been an honor to have been so welcome in the four-legged animal kingdom, if only for a while. It is going to be a bit sad to return to sleeping in a fetal position on my side of the bed, all around. The moral of the story, if there is one? It is nice to be appreciated! I don't know how this will be resolved right now.