There are so many reasons to be thankful for your dog or cat this year. Let’s see… there’s the:

Natural alarm clock:

Cats and dogs alike have the innate way of standing on your chest and sticking their face in yours until you wake up letting you know that it is time to start the day… even if it is before sunup.

Wasn’t-me face:

It doesn’t matter if you catch them red-handed, ergh, red-pawed, pets have an uncanny ability to make you feel sorry for them. Whether it is your dog getting into the trash or your cat knocking books off your bookshelf, their face of innocence is just too darn cute for you to stay mad at them.

Is-that-mine face:

You spent the last hour slaving over a hot stove and oven making an amazing meal for you and your family after a hard day at work, and here comes your pup or kitty prancing in staring up at you as you get ready to take your first bite of your delicious meal. Nothing like a 12-hour nap to make them think they deserve a spot at the human table.

Plenty of room on the couch, but I’m going to sit directly on you instead:

Seriously? Did they all get together and have a meeting about this or something? But the truth is, there’s really nothing better than snuggling up with your favorite furry pal. In fact, the moments where they choose to sit next to you rather than on your lap almost breaks your heart a little.

Butt-wiggle dance:

So, this is more of a dog thing but something that all pet parents can appreciate it. The moment when you come home or ask them if their hungry and their little fanny goes crazy. It’s almost the equivalent of a small child doing the “I have to go to the bathroom” dance. I mean can you even imagine going over to Aunt Ethel’s for Thanksgiving and her greeting you with a butt-wiggle happy dance? Sorry, didn’t mean to put that image in your head.

Where’d-it-go face:

How do they have so many different faces?! But you all know this one. It’s the one where your cat thinks she just pounced on the mysterious light on the ground, not realizing that you just shined the flashlight somewhere else. Or possibly when you pretend to throw the tennis ball only to have your dog chase after nothing wondering where it went. Now, who would do such a mean, stroke-of-pure-hilarious genius?

It’s always time for hide-and-seek game:

You come home and you’re looking to pick up your cat for a little pre-dinner snuggle–problem is you can’t find her. You call out her name, you shake the bag of her favorite treats, you check in every room and you start to fear the worst. Then, you go to your room to change into different shoes to go outside and look for her, only to find two beady little eyes staring at you from the back of your closet. You breathe out a sigh of relief, meanwhile she snickers to herself, “I am the queen of hide-and-seek.”