time delayed gratification ... aka my dog is the cat I wanted my whole life

I have always said that all prayers are answered, but sometimes the Universe works on a time delay of sorts.  Sometimes it is years before the prayer, as asked, is answered.  And then sometimes it doesn't come the way we expect (I'm sure I've told the Prince Charming Story, so we'll shelve that for now).

When I was a little girl, I desperately wanted a cat.  The one animal my father wouldn't ever let us adopt - something about a cat going shame-shame in his sandbox when he was a little boy.  (I was told if I got a paper route and could afford to buy and board a horse on what I earned, he'd help me pick him out.  Generous, no?)

It didn't stop the dream of something lithe, lean, graceful, independent, beautiful.  In a word feline. Maybe I should have dreamed that about myself, I could have been a ballerina.

Subsequent dreams came and went, but the dream of the cat went unfulfilled.  But a lot of dogs crossed my path.  All sizes, shapes, and various levels of obedience.  Honestly, I have seldom been responsible for creating good manners in my canines; the prior owners or foster parents usually encouraged good manners.  I've been lucky.

Until.

A bit better than a year ago,  a puggle found her way into my life.  More petite than the golden retriever who most recently owned (and as of this writing still owns) me, a joy to play with because she actually plays.

Thing is, she is actually a cat.

She is long, lithe, graceful, independent, and knows her own mind.  I am graced with her presence only when it behooves her, cuddled by her only when she is cold, and sought out when she has a definite need she'd like to have met.  Oh and she only eats what she wants to eat, no matter what goes in the bowl; if it doesn't meet her requirements, she boycotts the bowl until something better is delivered.

Hubby is the one who initially pointed out that it was catlike behavior.

Turns out that this is the right kind of cat for me, for now.