Dog or Cat Person

What is your favorite pet - Dog or Cat?  We have one dog and three cats in our family.  I guess if I was forced to a decision, I would be a dog person (after all I feed the dog and not the cats).  Nellie, our black lab, is an outdoor dog -greets me in the morning with great anticipation (that is when she gets fed) and is the first to greet me when I arrive at home. 

The only conditional part of the love is food - otherwise she is always happy to see me.   Contrast this to the cats who are interested only on their terms.  Rocky, the cat,  does greet me every morning wanting attention and almost like a dog will come on command - but that is unusual for a cat.

They have proven that having pets increase your chances of living longer.  Why? It's that unconditional love and also your opportunity to share that love.  And it is the very nature of companionship with 100% approval of who you are - no changes needed.  Dogs may have the advantage of also getting you to exercise by walking them. 

So who really lives longer - a dog person or cat person?  An indoor cat lives 12-18 years and an indoor medium to large dog lives 10-13 years.  That means the dog person is losing companionship 25% more than the cat person. 

Somehow the expression "Help my life is going to the dogs" now takes on a different meaning.