This thread jogged my memory about something else today. When my kids were little, their babysitter's cat had kittens. I'd always wanted a cat, but never had one in part because we always had German Shepherds and some of then didn't always get along with cats. But at that time my two Shepherds were really friendly and liked cats, so we decided to put them outside the slider on the deck and let all the kittens walk around the kitchen to see if there were any that didn't mind the dogs. One kitten went right over to the door and was fascinated with the dogs, and vice versa. I was so happy! So the kitten came to live with us. Well, the mewing bothered my mother even though she had a separate apartment.
And my kids loved the kitten but they were only about two years old and didn't really understand that the kitten was fragile. They wanted to hold it. Then one day I saw my DS toss the kitten up into the air, and I knew that it wasn't fair to the kitten to live with two two-year-olds. So we made the decision to bring him back. DH (also a huge animal lover, who grew up with cats) and I cried the whole way over to the babysitter's house. When she came to the door and I handed the kitten back, I was so upset I couldn't even speak. I just bawled and left. She totally understood. But still, it was hard, and the memory of it makes me feel terrible. I was just saying to DH I would still love to have a cat some day. Not sure how our little Toto would be (although I have faith in him as he is an amazing dog), but if we could find a cat that could hold its own, we might get it to work. Maybe some day.