I DREAM OF OWNING A FURRY FRIEND

For the past two years, I have been hooked on a not-so-typical detective series. It's called The Cat Who... Series by Lillian Jackson Braun. It's about a prize-winning crime reporter who adopted two Siamese cats--Koko and Yumyum. Together, this threesome solves mysteries. The mystery part is interesting, yes. But what keeps me glued to every page is the Siamese pair. I just love reading about how smart they are, and how fastidious cats could be.

And so I decided, "I wanna get myself a Siamese!"

But then again, during those two years, I had the privilege of knowing Simon. No, he's not the man of my dreams. He's a pug. A very loveable pug. His human says he's the runt of the litter, but what the hey! I still think he's adorable. And so at about the same time, I said to myself, "I have to find a pug for me!"

So now, it's a toss up between getting a cat or getting a dog. And before I get to that final decision, I need to consider a few factors.

For one, I leave early in the morning and come home very late at night. How in the world would I feed my lovely pet when I'm away from home? But then, I only live 10 minutes away from my office, so I guess that could be taken care of.

Number 2: I have a housemate. See, I share my apartment with another girl. Yeah, we have separate rooms and I could keep my chosen pet out of her way. But I just don't know if she could tolerate cat odors or dog noises (or vise versa), or the hair. She's not the type who would welcome a pet inside the house, and I dread to think about having my poor baby stay outside!

I guess I could talk to her about it, discuss with her about cleaning up and stuff like that. If she agrees, well and good. If not, oh boy!

Now, suppose she says yes. So what am I getting then? Let's see...

Siamese cat... Pug... Siamese cat... Pug...

It's so hard to choose between the two. As you can see, they both have beautifully masked faces, although the pug's face is more wrinkled than the cat's. They both have the same fawn color. They're both lap pets. Although a dog would follow you like the ever loyal friend he is, while a cat, well... he'll go on with his own catly ways and ignore you when he feels like it (which could be most of the time).

A pug wouln't make a lot of noise, while a Siamese could wake up a whole block with its yowls. But I know they would both listen to you when you suddenly burst into a monologue. They love the sound of the human voice.

A Siamese doesn't cost as much as a pug does, but then, I don't think I'm ready to contend with a cat shedding fur. I've got enough problems with my own hair, thank you very much.

I'll try to think about this some more. Maybe, when I finally decide, I'll let you know.