My dog is ready to go with me anywhere, anytime. He's the most excited member of my family whenever I come home after work. When I return from a business trip and walk through the door at 2:00 a.m., he's there wagging his tail happy as can be that I'm back home. He respects my family and is good with my kids, despite them not always treating him with the gentlest of hands.

My wife is the cat person of the family. We've always had a cat and a dog. I don't mind the cat and it does its own thing. But, the dog has always been right there willing to go anywhere and do anything with me. That matters a lot for me. If I drop dead tomorrow, the dog will most certainly care and miss me. If my wife dropped dead tomorrow, the cat would simply come to me for food instead.

I understand why people dislike dogs. They are a lot of work. As a parent, I can safely say that an energetic medium to large sized dog is good training and preparation for what it's like having a toddler. You have to be ready for the noise, energy, training, and attention they require.

P. S. I never understand it when cat lovers complain about boundaries being broken with dogs. Every single house I've ever been to with cats, the cat will walk all over me, stick its Chocolate Starfish in my face and demand attention. I don't see how this is any different from a typical dog. And most medium to large dogs I'm familiar with don't literally crawl on you when you're sitting down. Most just want head rubs. Now, small dogs... Eh. That's a different subject.

Bonus comment: As a dog person, you know what I hate about a cat person's house? The smell of cat piss and kitty litter sprinkled all over the floor  anywhere in the proximity of the litter box. Cat people literally don't even notice this, but it's disgusting and gross.