Spin Cycle: Cats and Dogs

I have always had a pet--cat or dog.  I prefer cats, but enjoy dogs too.  Since I moved in with Nick we have had a succession of pets.  It started with smuggling a cat into our first apartment.  We weren't able to keep Chuckie--yes Chuckie, after the possessed doll--because he howled when we weren't home and we got "busted" for having him.  I took him home to stay with my mom.  We called him Chuckie because we would roll over in the middle of the night and find him staring at our heads as if he was preparing to attack. It was slightly unnerving.
Our next cat came a few months later, in the same apartment building, but she was quiet and the landlords let us get away with having her.

Tinkerbell as a kitten

She was fascinated by the fish.

Never much of an outdoor cat, she liked the idea, but not the actual outsideness of it all.

Tinkerbell was a rescue cat and she lived with us for 16 years.  She played a mean game of fetch, could freeze the biggest guy in place by sitting on his knee and was dubbed Mean Kitty by most of our friends.  She had a habit of sitting on a knee and being fine until one tried to pet her. She also hated when we moved.  She would have been happy to stay in that first tiny one bedroom apartment Nick and I had when we got her.  After that when ever boxes came out she freaked.
Our next pet was a dog.  Nick had a friend who had puppies and Nick got to pick his puppy.  Tascha joined our family in November of 1996.

She had kidney troubles and left us in 2005. Nick loved her.  Her quirks were hating loud bangs, such as gun shots and fireworks.  She also hated cattle guards and would bark furiously when we passed over one. We still remember her when ever we pass over a cattle guard going done a dirt road.
Next to join the Jones family was Piper.  We got her the spring before we got married in 1998. She is still with us and very much a cat.

She must have fresh water in her bowl so she doesn't have to share with the dogs. I am also magic and can make water appear in an "empty" bowl by nudging the bowl to make the water move.  She likes to drink by dipping a paw in and daintily licking it dry--this is effectively used when drinking out of the toilet too.
Next to join the menagerie was Guinness in 2001.  A collie lab mix dog.  A little dumb, a lot neurotic about keeping us together, he fit right into the household.

He's getting old now at 13, he's slow to move, but still quite the herder.  He hates when we are not all together, but now will begrudgingly play with the newest pet, Thullee.

Yeah, we are pet people, not necessarily only dog or cat people.  They both have their perks and down sides. Dogs are under foot, slobbery and hairy.  Cats can puke right where you will step, only want attention at the worst possible moment, and they shed too. Wouldn't be without either.

Are you a cat person or dog person or both?  Spin it up and go see Gretchen and Ginny Marie, they would love to have you!