When I was a kid it was cats all the way, I wasn’t into dogs and didn’t really understand them. In my world, dogs were big and not cuddly and because I grew up on a farm, dogs existed to protect the yard and all of it’s possessions.

Cats were more portable and loved to be held. We had a mother cat, Sweetums, who was a part of our family for over ten years. She, like the dog, lived outdoors and each year produced a set of adorable kittens. She was an incredible hunter and kept the rodents at bay.

To me, cats had more of a personality and I’d take a kitten over a puppy any day.

When I got married and had kids we had no pets other than fish. The kids had begged for a dog but I wasn’t interested in adding to the workload or responsibility I already had and neither was the kids’ dad. So we existed pet-less for years, now when I look back that seems odd.

When my ex-husband and I separated and I moved out, eventually once the kids and I got settled and bought our own house, the first thing we did was get a kitten, Iggy. He will always be memorable to us because he was the first pet with fur the kids owned. He was quite the character.

Four years ago my younger daughter begged for a dog. We had just moved into a bigger house and my oldest was out of the house, my second oldest soon to be. The house was feeling empty-ish. And this was before Sid entered our lives.

We got a puppy, a golden retriever, we named her Remi. If you want all the details of how I turned into one of those crazy dog people, the post is way way back. I originally wrote it for the newspaper and then it was published in the Winnipeg Free Press pet newsletter but it’s really only funny if you also made the transition from like yeah, I guess dogs are okay, to oh my god I would throw myself in front of a semi truck for this dog.

We now have a dog and a different cat named Boo, RIP Iggy. I like both of them. Since Sid joined our family, naturally he takes centre stage and the dog (and the cat) have slid back into second and third place. I won’t say who is where.