Creative November Challenge Day #19: Dog people versus cat people

I've always thought of myself as a cat person. Until the Sausage (aka Jackie) arrived, we'd only ever had one dog - years ago when we lived in Papua New Guinea. His name was Canuck and he was an awesome mixed breed boy who smiled constantly. We inherited him from fellow volunteers returning  to Canada, and passed him on to other good-hearted folks when it came time for us to do the same. Honestly, as much as we loved him, I never thought we'd invite another dog to live with us given that, before and after Canuck, we only ever had cats.

If you'd asked me why I was a cat person, I would have said it was because cats are smarter, more interesting, cleaner, and easier to care for. I might also have mentioned that I feel more comfortable around cat people, who I generally think of as more intelligent, sensitive, introverted, creative, independent and - yes - more neurotic than dog people.

Many of my cat-loving friends express the firm view that they'd never have a dog. Take my friend, R., for instance. He's a cat person all the way, as you can tell in this photo.

Wait. What? Isn't that a dog into whose eyes he's gazing  so lovingly? Why, yes. Yes, it is. How strange. Because I assure you R. would never want a dog. He's said so dozens of time so it must be true. He prefers cats because they're independent and "stay out of his face"- a sentiment I've heard other cat people express often.

Now, some might characterize R's attitude as essentially selfish because he makes it sound like he doesn't want to commit the time and energy needed to care for a dog properly. But I know better.  The real reason R. and most of the other cat people I know can't bear the thought of having a dog is that they're so caring and sensitive that they can't imagine coping with the anxiety and guilt that come with having a dog.

Almost without exception, cats are independent and self-reliant enough to get along on their own for lengthy periods of time. Sure, they're happy to see their caregivers when they arrive home, but they don't go out of their way to make them feel guilty because they had to be gone all day working to pay for food and litter. Cats understand that their people have responsibilities, and do what they can to reduce their stress at the end of a long hard day.

Dogs are entirely different. When their caregivers arrive home - whether it's been 15 minutes or 6 hours since they left - they go out of their minds with happiness, whining with relief at their people's long-awaited return, insisting they must never ever leave them again, and so on and so on. Though such intense doggy affection can be endearing, it's positively disabling for cat people, who are simply too kind, sensitive and caring to cope with the emotional responsibility of a dog.

So the next time you assume that dog people as a group are more caring and loving than cat people, think again. Some dog people are every bit as caring and sensitive as cat people, but it ain't necessarily so. In fact, it's quite possible for a dog person to be a cold-hearted narcissistic jerk who doesn't give a damn about the health and well-being of his canine companions so long as they shower them with love and affection. Sad but true.