The Dragon's Lair

My future husband sure as heck better like animals. Not necessarily love, but I won't settle for someone who merely tolerates animals. I've been around people who "tolerate" animals, usually for the sake of their spouse or kids - my dad, for example, who only ever liked one of the dogs we've owned though he would never admit it. My BIL, who isn't a fan of having pets and is against getting a dog. He doesn't make it a secret that he dislikes pets, and will usually voice his complaints through the occasional joke or remark.

Which is understandable, of course - cats can stink a place up and dogs tear a place up. But were I married to someone like my BIL, those remarks would get on my nerves pretty quick, possibly leaving me bitter toward my spouse. I'm rather hypersensitive about a lot of things and one thing I can't stand is negative remarks. Which, yes, is rather hypocritical of me as I'm always complaining about our dogs. But, then, I'm not a big fan of dogs. I like dogs, but the fewer the better and right now we have five dogs. I'm also a straight up cat person.

So I really hope that whoever I marry really likes animals. My mom says that guys who like animals are rare (most especially guys who like cats). But I've known guys who were not only animal fans but even cat fans. My friend's husband, for example, who had a cat before getting married. Another friend's husband and a guy who went to my church who even had a T-shirt that let you know he liked cats. So they do exist.

Which also makes me wonder if guys today are more animal loving then guys of my dad's or even grandfather's generation. I would like to think so, but it's hard to say. What do you all think?