“In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him.”

I have a cat, a black cat for the matter and she's very independent. “A cat will be your friend, but never your slave.” Yes, she will let you pet her and she'll come to sleep at the foot end of my bed, keeping me company all night. She's very calm but won't think twice before scratching you if she feels annoyed. To some extent I admire cats, their independence and "I'm no one's slave - I'll be loyal to you but don't boss me around - leave me alone and I'll come to you when I feel like it".
I also like the way she elengantly walks around the house, moving from one 'sleeping-spot' to the other. All she requires is you feeding her and cuddling her a few times a day. Easy.
Then I have a dog. She's small but she's a ball of energy! Opposite of the cat who spends all day sleeping. I love my dog. In the morning when I wake up she's the first in line to run towards me as happy as a kid in a sweets shop (or me in a sweets shop, same thing) and jumps up practically begging me to pet her, play with her and simply love her. I can see her begging for my attention. Wherever I go she follows.
Not like the cat who follows just when she's hungry. No. The dog follows me ALL the time, no matter what, because all she wants is my company.
That's what I love about dogs, they give you unconditional love, they don't judge you and don't expect anything but your attention, they simpy love you. We should learn form these animals.
I believe myself to be more of a dog's person then a cat person, I like to have a dog I can go for a run or for a walk with and I can be sure it will enjoy it too. A dog that will run and jump on me to say hi when I get back home with all the energy of a child in a playground.
But I also like having my cat. So peaceful and quiet, doesn't bother anyone... keeps my feet warm at night :P
So, yes, I guess I have my dog to 'worship' me and my cat to 'ignore' me so that I can keep a balance between believing myself to be important, for a dog who can't live without me and realising that after all a cat is not really bothered whether I am there or not but, I still think that somewhere deep down the cat loves me too, otherwise she wouldn't sleep on my bed...