Cats vs. Dogs

“This here’s a hold-up! So put yer ‘ands on yer head and go sit in that chair over thar,” said the robber to the bank teller as he cocked his revolver. “Now you jest stay thar and don’t get any ideas about callin’ fer help.”


“Y-yes sum – I mean, sir, er . . .” stuttered the nervous teller as he stiffly moved over to the chair and sat down. I’m sure to get it good from old Smithers this time, he thought. These thieves always seem to know just the right times for a hold-up, what with the Sherriff out o’ town and all.

“Now, give me the key to the back room and keep a hand on yer head. Hurry now, Sherriff’s due back any minute.”

Using one hand, the teller reached for his belt and began removing an oversized ring with one brass key on it. After a bit of struggling he successfully removed the ring and began to hand it to the thief. “Here you are –

“Sshh! Did you hear a bark?” asked the robber.

Horatio!? Thought the teller. “I don’t –

“Aw, just gimme the key”

Just as the robber grabbed the key ring from the teller and began walking toward the back room, there was a quick shuffling outside the front doorway. The robber turned around quickly and was about to say something to the teller, but before he could get his words out found himself on the ground staring into the snarling face of a black Labrador. He instinctively reached for his gun, which was knocked from his hand during the tackle.

“Whew!” exclaimed the teller kicking the gun further away from the thief. “You came just in time Horatio, good boy!” He leaned down and took the keys from the petrified thief.



Consider the previous excerpt from a short story. Does it make you want to get a dog? If not, at least you appreciate the existence of the Labrador in the story. Now, say I was to change a few things in the story, replace the dog with a cat. It just wouldn’t work, would it? Granted, I like cats, but dogs – in my opinion – are better.

Cats are smart and warm and fuzzy. Not all dogs are fuzzy or necessarily cuddly, but they are very smart. Cats look cute and can be quite funny at times. Not all dogs may look cute or have funny antics, but those are the ones who are the mountain man’s hunting partner or the fireman’s most reliable rescue dog. Both of these creatures can be trained to be good indoor or outdoor pets. Now, with these similarities it may look as if the Cat and the Dog are on equal par. Not so, I say.

Dogs are usually friendly; cats can be friendly, but most carry a sort of “hostile” propriety. Both indoor and outdoor dogs can be trained to go outside and do their “business” in a designated spot. Cats can do the same but are harder to train. Even though cats clean themselves by licking and dogs usually don’t, cats sometime or another will have to get rid of what they cleaned themselves of; hence, hairballs on your carpet. Dogs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so you have a wide selection to pick from when choosing one. There are larger versions of cats, but, let’s just they aren’t very cuddly.

By now, I think you get my point. I really like dogs. Yes, there some breeds of dogs I do not like, such as the ones who have been bred and bred to be smaller and smaller (and smaller . . . you might as well get a hamster) or to have more and more of a squished face. Most of those toy dogs are ugly and yappy. I tend to like the more robust and larger hounds, ready to wallop bad guys, go for a hunt, or just sit out on the porch and watch the sun go down.

Which do you like better?