A risky creature comfort: sleeping with a pet

Every night for the last year, Kathy Ruttenberg has been getting into bed with Trixie, a 7-kilogram Vietnamese pot-bellied pig.

"She's a great cuddler if you lie still," said Ms. Ruttenberg, a 53-year-old artist who lives near Woodstock, a rural community about 170 kilometers north of New York City. "But if you're restless, she gets annoyed, and her hooves are very sharp."

Figures vary, but according to a recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 to 62 percent of the 165 million dogs and cats in the United States sleep in bed with their owners.