Dogs

I have owned just one dog. In the sense that it's less work and less expense, it is better, but I find two dogs so much more rewarding. I wouldn't say they play together though... Ghost is a mean old thing who hates everyone, but she will allow Charlie in her presence (most of the time) and does seem to feel more comfortable when he's around. Charlie absolutely adores Ghost and allows her to attack him whenever she gets in the mood to because he loves her so much. It's a very odd relationship. To make it weirder, Ghost loves to play but Charlie mostly just likes to cuddle. Since no two dogs (at least no two I've ever met) are alike, you get a mix of personalities, which is lots of fun.

But the most valuable part of owning two dogs is both selfish and helpful- When Lucy (the first dog) started getting old, I got the advice that we should get our next dog before she died, and that way we would at least have a dog to come home to rather than an empty house. It doesn't mean you aren't still devastated when it happens, but it really does help in terms of having the support you would have otherwise (or also) gotten from the dog who is now gone. We got Max only a year before Lucy died, which was too close. We didn't wait that long the next time when we got Ghost.

As far as the bond lessening, definitely not. It does help that I'm Charlie's favorite and my wife is Ghost's favorite this time, but my wife was also Max's favorite and stayed that way until he was gone. I will never get over losing Lucy or Max, but having Max to come home to when Lucy was gone (and in the case of Lucy, my wife and infant daughter were out of town and it couldn't wait so I really was on my own) and having Ghost to come home to when Max was gone, was such a comfort.

Now my mother, her housemate and how her housemate's daughter all live together and they have four dogs. They're four small dogs, but that's still way too many dogs.