Man's Best Friend?

Man's Best Friend

Who is REALLY man's best friend? Some would argue with you and say it's not a dog - it's a cat! We've all heard that phrase - Man's Best Friend - and traditionally they are referring to domestic dogs because of their close relationships, loyalty, and companionship with humans. But I say cats can have close relationships, be loyal and be some of the best of companions to humans too - doesn't matter if it's a loving ball of fur, or sleek coated creature (take your pick).

By the way, did you know that there are approximately 68 million owned dogs in the United States? Or, that there approximately 73 million cats that are owned here in the US? Looks like the cats may have a slight edge here.

Martini

We personally own four animals - I own two dogs of my own (Martini, who is joined to my hip & Addison Grace who is very independent) and a cat (Jolie - more about her in a bit),  while my husband owns one dog (Delilah, old and getting on in years). There was one other dog...one of THE most loyal animals ever - Samson, the mate to Delilah - but we lost him last year.

Jolie

The cat, Jolie, was supposed to belong to my husband - I gave it to him for his birthday since he loved cats and missed having one. But there was just one problem, and it wasn't the dogs....well, Jolie wasn't fond of the dogs at first but she became adjusted to them quickly and just loves our Fourche Terrier, Addison. Probably because she loves catching Addison's fluffly tail and biting it - but Addison isn't too fond of that game!


No, the problem was that she DIDN'T like my husband! In fact, she hated him. I was told at PetCo that she may have been abused before they got her and I'm wondering if she was possibly abused by boys, therefore not liking any male person.

Either way, it didn't matter - what mattered was that Jolie was a gift to my husband and she would have nothing to do with him. She'd run from him, she'd hide from him, she wouldn't let him come near her. 

On the other hand, she loved me. I could do anything with her and she was as gentle and quiet as could be. She comes when I call her, she has to get  in bed and sleep on my legs, and she loves to rub against my hand when I'm feeding her. So Jolie became my cat. 

When we go upstairs to watch a movie, you can be guaranteed that, one by one, they will all make their way upstairs and before the first five minutes have gone by Martini, Addison, and Jolie will be in my lap, at my feet or on top of the chair against my head. Delilah, hubby's dog, will jump into his lap. One big happy family with Man's best friends - 3 dogs and a cat.

Addison

Martini

Through the years, we've owned several animals - cats, dogs and birds. With the exception of the birds, they've all been loving, dedicated animals. Normally the cats were always very close, very loving, and very loyal to my husband - Jolie is the exception. And the dogs were split - I had MY dogs and he had HIS dogs - all being very loving and loyal to their respective "parent".  All best friends...

There's always one in the bunch that just has to do their own thing!

Oh, before I sign off, I feel like I should say a little something about Samson - He's the black, white and brown rat terrier in the picture above, along side Delilah, the other rat terrier. 

We got Samson and Delilah as puppies. Both of those dogs were spoiled by my husband and therefore were very loyal to him, Samson especially! We both of us still miss him, especially my husband - it really was like losing a family member. 

I guess if I had to put a name to Man's Best Friend, it would have to be Samson. He was a perfect example. So maybe dogs really are man's best friend, although I have a few friends and family members that would argue that point!

Samson taking a nap in his favorite place...

So, what about you? Who do you think is really man's best friend - Cat or Dog?