lol
I have a similar story to Wolf's. I wanted a dog to help me guard the house after a burgulary in which all my guns were stolen, but the pound which I had spent 6 hours at "interviewing" and "bonding" denied me two days later, saying that I had insufficient experience with dogs to be a good caretaker. Of course, I should have left right away after seeing owners referred to as "parents".... I like to think of my pets as my underlings or, at best, partners.
Anyhow, right after I get the phone call I find a dog lying about 2 days from starving to death next to my car in the faculty parking lot. $500 of vet work, rescue discounted to $300, later (all the pet hospitol did was cut his collar off, which had cut into his throat, shave the area and dress the wound, and keep him kenneled for two days... grrr...) I had a very loyal and effective watchdog.
Well, I also have cats. Or, rather, my roommate does. Fortunately they are both short hair cats (we both hate long hair cats), and the fur really isn't that bad. But one cat really distrusts Stalin (my dog) and actually has charged him hissing and swiping more than one time. Of course, Stalin percieves the challenge as a challenge to his ability to defend us, so it gets interesting after that point...
But the other cat sleeps witht he dog. Strange.