Everybody knows the phrase “a dog is a man’s best friend.” When you think of a dog, you think of a furry friend that will snuggle up beside you and constantly be by your side. On the contrary, when you think about a cat, you might picture a skinny animal walking alone or a pet that leaves scratches all over you. Dogs are viewed as friendly and loyal pets, while cats are thought to be less loving and scarier. 

Most people get a dog because they desire a loyal companion that is loving and will always want to cuddle with their owners, despite how big or small they are. Stray cats are seen much more frequently than stray dogs because dogs enjoy being with their owners, and owners like being with their furry best friends. 

“I feel they [dogs] are a lot more fun to play with than cats, and are nice company to have,” junior Chayce Baker said. 

“I just love how lovable dogs are to their owners and how you can take them to parks and just run around with them,” junior Madison Prentice said. 

Dogs also help people with various disabilities and medical conditions as they are emotionally, and physically, very strong animals. Dogs can legally be acknowledged as both service and emotional support animals, while cats are only able to provide people with assistance on a therapeutic level. According to writers from the Mayo Clinic, there are even diabetes service dogs that are trained to pick up and carry objects such as juice bottles, cordless phones, test breath for low or high blood sugar and act as a brace to help a person after falling. Other physiological tests have found that cuddling a dog, or even just watching one, can lower a person’s blood pressure. 

Also, films centered around dogs have historically done better than cat movies. Movies like “Old Yeller” and “101 Dalmatians” received 100% and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, making them the two highest-rated dog movies. The Tomatometer score represents the percentage of positive professional critic reviews for a film or television show. A more recent cat movie such as “Cats” did not do so well, being called a “clawful mistake” and receiving a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. Overall, most dog movies are heart-warming, while cat films are simply traumatizing. 

Additionally, dogs are great because there is a type of dog for everyone. The World Canine Organization (WCO) currently recognizes 339 breeds of dogs, which are divided into 10 groups based on their appearance, size and function. While most dogs have unique looks, there are only 71 breeds of pedigreed cats according to The International Cat Association (TICA). In other words, people who want a dog are able to choose from all sorts of different breeds. They have the option to get a small, medium or large-sized dog, one with lots of fur or no fur at all and dogs of different colors and fur patterns.  

Another perk of owning a dog is that they do not need litter boxes, as a cat does. Dogs are easily house-trained to go to the restroom outside, meaning their mess is contained outdoors rather than inside your own home. 

We all know that dogs are extremely cute, but people do not only love them for their looks. Dogs make people feel like they are not alone and that they always have a friend who will play and cuddle with them in order to cheer them up. Dogs are of great service to people emotionally and physically and really are a man’s best friend when given the opportunity to be.