Agreed, I'm very pro dog (never had a cat), but at the time the kid rescued two cats and I was compelled to house them. Great thing was when the kid moved out, he was compelled to take them with him 😀
We have 4 dogs (2 outside, 2 inside). The insiders are Poodles which don't shed. I've always had "big" dogs, but the Poods are actually great dogs and act like "real" dogs.