Dogs appear to be winning the bumper sticker wars. I see little round "WOOFs" and "Wag more, bark less" ovals on the backs of wagons, PT Cruisers and SUVs all around town. This week I spotted two black dog silhouettes (I think a poodle and a Lab), an "I heart my basset hound," and a "Praise dog." Not a single cat fancy.

In the interest of full disclosure I admit I have "Dog is my co-pilot" on my back bumper --alongside a 2004 election sticker that, let's just say, didn't come true. I also have a "Dogs lick ass" bumper sticker taped over my desk that I don't have the nerve to put on my car.

But still. Where are all the cat fanciers? The ferret fans? The rabbit devotees? It's not that there aren't thought-provoking alternatives available. Browsing the novelty shop that is the Internet, I discovered a treasure trove, especially sticky dispatches from the feline universe. Who can argue with "E Pluribus Meow -- In cats we trust"?

I did notice some things about cat stickers. It seems cat folks, like cats perhaps, are a little less direct, and a lot more arch, in expressing affection. Hence options like "We're staying together for the sake of the cats," and "We had to give away the kids. The cat was allergic." There is a whole genre dedicated to the idea that cats are better (or at least more complicated) than dogs. From the pithy, "Cats rule. Dogs drool," to the complicated, "Dogs come when called. Cats have answering machines and might get back to you." I personally love the double-take inducing "Cats are people too."

Where dog lovers celebrate loyalty, nobility and spunk; cat people relish the darker feline attributes. For example, this is squeezed into an 11-inch rectangle: "Some say cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have other fine qualities as well."

That your out-of-the-mainstream animal -- your African grey or your bearded dragon -- has not spawned an industry of kitschy crap is no excuse. There are options for all forms of fin, feather and fur rapture. Why not recast old favorites? "Love me, love my python." Or, "I brake for hamsters." Or, "Honk if you love hummingbirds." That reminds me, I did run across a small flock of bird stickers. My favorite? "Bird flu. Schmird flu." It almost makes me want to become a "Bird nerd" (that's a sticker, too).

I think the advantage to dogs from a bumper-sticker-writer's point of view is that -- as has been said many times and often on bumper stickers, cards and T-shirts -- dog is god spelled backwards, which fuels a lot of woof-play. "Dog only nose!"

Even better than bumper stickers are We Love Our Pets specialty Washington license plates, which help fund pet spay/neuter programs around the state. Plates feature a pair of pups designed by comic strip creator Brian Basset (author and illustrator of "Red and Rover, A Boy, a Dog, a Time, a Feeling, a Comic Strip"), and can be personalized: K9 LVR? (Original plates are $40, plus any applicable licensing fees.) Get the 4-1-1 from the Department of Licensing.

From dogsledding in Fairbanks to tracking down lost pups with a pet detective in Fresno, Pet Dish blogger Lisa Wogan explores the world of dogs and their people for Bark magazine, and in books such as Unleashed: Climbing Canines, Hiking Hounds, Fishing Fidos, and Other Daring Dogs. She lives in Seattle with rescue dogs Lulu and Renzo.

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