Getting a chi was something that my hubby knew I wanted for years. He wanted a cat, so we decided that if we ever had pets, we would get one of each. But he would still make comments like, "If you're going to get a dog, get a
real dog," implying I should get a Lab or something like that. When we moved into our new, bigger house, we decided the time was right to each get our desired pets. When we mentioned our plans to people, they would ask what type of dog we were getting, and my husband would say, "She wants some little yappy thing that looks like a rat."
However, now that we have had Ren (and our cat, Sophie) for over 3 months, hubby definitely loves him! He admits that a chi wouldn't have been his first choice of dog, but he appreciates how his size makes him easy to care for and less messy.

He pets him all the time, and allows Ren to sit on his lap for ages chewing a bully stick. (Ren likes my hubby's lap better, because he's a lot bigger than I am, and therefore has more lap space). He even talks in baby-talk to Ren! Never thought I would hear that happen - the guy who thought chis were little yappy things and not real dogs. He also lets Ren give him kisses and refers to him frequently as his "favorite little man."
So my husband has definitely become a convert. And considering I'm not really a cat person, I've also come to appreciate our cat's more calm and mellow qualities.