Are You a Dog Person or a Cat Person?

Do I have to choose?  I might say I'm a "cat person" but that's kind of an obvious answer because I have three cats.  It only means I can't have dogs because I HAVE THREE CATS and my husband will divorce me if I bring anymore animals into the house.  How did I get three cats anyway?  When we first got married in 1990, we adopted this little rascal of a kitten from a pet store (yes, I know--horrible! should have gone to a shelter! But I was young and it was on my way to Giant).  His name was Winston and I fell in love with him when I noticed the store was closed and he was not in the display with the other kittens but climbing around on the shelves above the terrariums and fish.  What a rebel!  Since my husband and I worked full time and both of us had heinous Northern VA commutes and we each went 45 minutes in opposite directions each day, we knew it wouldn't be right to have a dog who would need to walk and get exercise during the day.  We had a little suburban townhouse and a kitten seemed the right choice.  Over the years, the cat worked his wily ways into our hearts and we became smitten with kittens and couldn't imagine having any pet that required more maintenance than cleaning a litterbox and refilling a food dish and occasional vet trips.  Winston was a dream.

We had neighbors with adorable Labrador Retrievers and Poodles, and over the years our family members have gotten a smart little Boston Terrier and we find all these dogs hilarious and full of personality and comedy.  There is nothing better than watching these dogs play in the park and seeing a big dog and small dog play tag and nip at each others heels.  I also envy those dog walkers and joggers who can bring their furry friends on their fitness quests and even those mommies with the strollers who ambitiously speed walk with their babies and doggies at the same time.  Dogs can do all kinds of things and enjoy all kinds of freedom that cats can't--for example, when is the last time you saw a cat poke it's head out of the back window of an SUV to enjoy the salty air on a ride to the beach?  And have you ever seen a cat catch a frisbee in its mouth or play catch?  (actually, my cats can retrieve some toys for me, but they do this when they feel like it, not when I do)  I will confess, there are plenty of occasions I have missed my pets when I'm on vacation and wished I could have them beside me when I've taken a stroll down a new road or thought how nice it would be to have a guard dog barking at the door when the solicitors arrive, just to make them think twice.

I have plenty of friends who have one of each, and I guess there may be one day when my daughters take their cats away with them and I'm left with only one that my darling husband may consent to a dog.  And then I will be able to make a fair comparison.  For now, however, I have to say I'm a "cat person" but only because of my limited resources and patience and not because I don't like dogs.  So please don't take my answer as an offense to dogs.    Now it's time for me to go walk my cat.