My husband and I both love dogs too, but dogs are a little more labor-intensive; they have to be trained not to piddle and poop in the house, while cats know instinctively what to do with a box of sand; dogs make a lot of noise, and have to be trained on that too, as to when it's appropriate and when it's not, and even then, ehh, they forget a lot.

Cats are very quiet, unless they're in heat or mating -- and once fixed, they don't make that sound anymore.

Cats are very independent, so if you leave enough food and water for them, you can leave them alone for a whole day, and they'll be alright; dogs need more constant attention. If a cat runs off, there's an EXCELLENT chance he or she will be back by suppertime

-- dogs, maybe not; they get sidetracked very easily. And unless you wanna go walkees EVERYTIME that dog needs to piddle, you need a fenced yard, because chaining a dog outside is just cruel, and also never completely fool-proof -- or dog-proof -- ditto for fences, unless you extend chainlink about a foot into the soil, but it's at least not as cruel as chaining them. And there are no laws about allowing your cat to roam around outdoors, which is very much not the case with dogs, if you live anywhere near any size town.
So... we might get a dog sometime, if we can ever afford to fence in our backyard. In the meantime, we're enjoying our cat tremendously, and might get another in a few years.
Andria