ABSTRACT Personality differences have been reported in “dog people” and “cat people” across all Big Five personality traits. Dog ownership has also been associated with reduced loneliness in people living alone during periods of prolonged isolation, which may be suggestive of higher levels of resilience in this population of pet owners. This research extends these findings by investigating the predictive power of dog vs. cat ownership on Big Five personality traits and resilience in an Australian population, after controlling for age and gender. Three hundred and twenty-one participants completed an online survey consisting of questions on demographics, pet ownership, and personality, as well as providing free-hand responses for their choice in pet. As hypothesized, dog ownership was found to positively predict resilience, while cat ownership positively predicted neuroticism. In contrast to our expectations, no other personality differences were found between pet owners. Qualitative insights suggest pet choice is driven simply by “liking” that pet (i.e., being a “dog person” or “cat person”), pet personality factors, lifestyle habits, and living situations. Findings suggest that personality factors might explain why people who choose to own dogs fare better than people who choose not to own dogs during challenging times of social isolation, which may be unrelated to the animal itself.