The answer to this question is: YES! I love all animals, so I don’t think I could even choose between tigers or horses. In my life, I’ve had rabbits, cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, and guinea pigs. They’re all awesome little fuzzballs that just want to be loved. Sorry, I just adore animals so much that I get a little carried away.

In my crazy and busy life, I made the decision to adopt a cat a few years ago. My wife wanted a dog so bad—side note: she also loves and adores all animals. Anyway, at that time, and still today, my life is stressful and busy, so I told her I didn’t have the time or patience to train a dog. My wife has two sons who were both teenagers at the time of the pet adoption discussion. If anyone has teenagers, you know how much of a pain in the butt they can be at times, and how they pull your attention off of other things. I’m also smart enough to know that a new puppy would have required my full attention because I would be the one training him or her. So, one day, a few weeks before my wife’s birthday, we went to a local pet store that has cats for adoption. Of course my wife wanted to bring them all home, but there was one that locked onto us. We asked if we could meet her, and we got to hold her and pet her. We didn’t adopt her that day, but I got up early the next day, called to make sure she was still available, and I raced up there to adopt her.

I’m so glad I did because she is just the sweetest cat and full of love. Adopting her was supposed to be a birthday gift for my wife, but Tonks (our cat) has been a gift for me, as well. My wife told me a few months after bringing Tonks home that I was like a totally different person. The cat somehow slowed me down and decreased my stress levels.

The funny thing is how I said I didn’t think I’d have the time and bandwidth to train a dog, but I spend a lot of time with the cat. We have our routines where we play with her toys after dinner, she bats at my legs when I’m leaving for work, and she lies down in front of the door hoping I won’t leave. I’ve taught her how to fist bump. She runs to the door when someone rings the doorbell—I swear if she could bark, she would.

So, while we have a cat and I adore her, I still love and adore dogs. I go to my friends houses or family members to play with the dogs. Our neighbor has a dog and we get to see him almost every day. So both are a part of my life and life is better with both or either. Animals are a gift to humanity.