Thanks for putting this out there.

Yes, bumps in the road are inevitable. (particularly the ‘chews anything you might care about’ stage, but it is totally worth it.

If you’re a ‘cat person’, and still have a cat (or cats) in your household, I’d suggest a Pembroke Corgi. They have a reputation for liking / getting along with cats. The two we’ve had got along great with the cats in the neighborhood. After the first one passed, one of his cat buddies would come down the hill and sit on our porch, waiting for him to come out so they could hang.

I would caution you that, although Corgis only shed once a year, it’s pretty much all year. If you get a ‘fluffy’, they’re particularly beautiful right after grooming — but I’ve gotten as much as a quarter pound of hair during one of those grooming sessions (There was so much, I stuffed it all into a produce bag and weighed it. Why? Bragging rights, I guess.)

Sadly, my allergies have gotten much worse over the years; our next pup will probably be one of the ‘hypoallergenic’ (e.g. poodles) breeds.