Cats or Dogs?

I have always been a cat person. Grew up with cats. Adopted cats when I got my own place. In fact, when I bought my first house, my husband wanted a dog. We went to the animal shelter and came home with... A cat. He couldn't decide what dog to take home and the people told him he couldn't take one just to take one. Me, on the other hand, I immediately bonded with Sammy-cat. To restore domestic tranquility, I agreed to adopt a dog, but I got to approve the breed. We got a Sheltie. Which is how I learned that dogs are maybe not so bad. My cat and his dog became fast friends. Fast forward. Three cats later (and no, I never replaced the dog), my children have dogs--my first grandchildren. 

My daughter started with one, and then a second. Then those two dogs had puppies and they kept one. Grand total=three. Her dogs are... high strung. Or low strung, or very family-centric (or one of each). With that being said, now that there are real grandchildren and the dogs are a little older, the dogs are more mellow. The high strung one brings me a ball to play fetch (and how can you resist puppy eyes?) The low strung, family-centric ones still guard the family and keep a watchful eye, although petting is required from time to time. They are part of the family, after all.

Then there's my son. His wife wanted to be sure he would love her dog before she agreed to a serious relationship. She had a black Lab who easily wormed her way into my son's heart--and everyone else's. They've since added a second Lab (chocolate) - a very energetic puppy. I have to say, they are very smart dogs. When you call out a specific toy, they know exactly which one to get. I was visiting over the weekend, and the puppy (who is about a year and a half now) decided we should play a game - a very sneaky game that it took me a minute to catch on to. I wear a scrunchie on my wrist in case I need to put my hair up, say, to eat. It took him a long time to discover this, but once he did, suddenly he was asking for extra pets. Except every time I complied, my scrunchie slid closer to my hand. If you know anything about Labs, they are soft-mouthed dogs, which means he was grabbing that scrunchie very subtly. I have been laughing about his antics for days. 

I see they've caged you while you eat, human.

I, too would like to taste your lunch

This is where I tell you I'm still "not really" a dog person, but after all these grand-dogs, I may have been swayed. Now I find myself smiling over a rambunctious little dog who brings me his ball and gives me puppy eyes asking if I want to play. I chuckle at a sneaky dog who wants something of mine to play with, while he watches to see if I'll notice him trying to take it from me. If I were to adopt another animal, rest assured it would still be a cat, but I do enjoy playing with my granddogs. 

I have lots of inspiration for the dog that shows up in the next Hillendale novel. {grin}

What about you? Most people have definite inclinations one way or the other. Cats? Or Dogs?