I wanna doggie

Lately the boys have been asking for a dog. Maybe it's the movies about dogs they've been picking from the library: Because of Winn Dixie, Shiloh, Shiloh Season, or the neighbors on both sides of us with canine companions. Or the books they choose at bedtime: for instance Maddox picking Clifford the Big Red Dog for the 83rd night in a row and then telling me this:

M: I wanna doggie.
Me: Talk to Daddy about that.
M: If he says no, then it's no.
Me: {took the words right out of my mouth} Do you think he'll say no?
M: No. . . actually, yes.
Me: You think he'll say no?
M: Yeah, but I really wanna doggie.