Dogs, always dogs. I love their joyousness, their ability to love without judgment, their courage, and that they are never embarrassed.

I admit I am biased by a lifetime with dogs, including raising purebred collies as a child, and that my current dog, an Australian Shepherd, saved me from despair when my dad died.

Cats. I loved my sheep dog and I enjoy having many animals around but cats and I just seem to operate on the same wavelength.

Kirin. They fly around the world battling evil.
Despite this shit job, they maintain an unflagging dignity at all times.

Specificall,. my dog, who is good-natured, well-behaved and comical. I love dogs in general; they are such people-pleasers. I like cats for their purring and lassitude. Humans I like okay, they're complicated and interesting. Horses can be quite personable, and their size can be comforting. I love seeing the occasional wild deer or fox, or turkeys. Raccoons make an awful mess, but are cute. Squirrels are damaging little bastidges, and I wish the dog could catch them. Ravens have significance in my life, always happy to see any corvids.

Yeah, I like critters, mostly.

This is harder to answer than I thought. I feel much like theora55, though I'll put cats before dogs. And I like squirrels (and rats, and bats, and possums, and all sorts of "vermin"). I love horses, always have. But it seems to me that birds are my favorite animal. Not domestic birds, though I like them too. But wild birds. Everywhere I go, I'm distracted by passing birds. All the sizes, shapes, kinds. From hummingbirds to vultures, I admire and try to photograph birds every chance I get. So, I guess I did find my answer.

Otters, something about the 'floating around on my back occasionally breaking open a shell to get something to eat' lifestyle appeals to me (Breaks open a bag of chips) And when they need to be, they can get badass (google: "Otter vs Alligator").

Also fell in love with the Paso Robles Capybara when he became news a few years ago. Seen wandering around a local reservoir, then disappeared, probably somebody's exotic pet that got out. But hamsters are much more awesome when they're over 100 pounds.

For an animal I can actually have as a pet, Dog is top of the list. Had a total sweetheart doggie the last few years of my marriage and yes, I miss the dog more than the wife.

I was never allowed near Cats growing up due to my father's extreme allergy, so when I 'inherited' a free-range furball from a neighbor who passed away, I was apprehensive, but I've learned to really appreciate cats... from a safe distance (which is just fine with the current cat, thank you).

And Metachat has made me come to truly love Bunnies, although Bugs was already my favorite cartoon animal. Both Rocky and Bullwinkle were close runner-up (and cartoon squirrels as a group are probably my faves, not so much real-life ones).

My current "on the edge of the wild area" location has introduced me to a couple of awesome Raccoons and Deer (and the coast I am a few miles from has plenty of Otters).

I see I am going exclusively mammalian for favorite animals, but my less-wonderful experiences with pet birds, fish and a tortoise probably has a lot to do with that.

I repeat, OTTERS!

(this came over my RSS reader after I posted my comment)

giraffes-- so peaceful and quiet. I used to love watching them at the zoo. Smart, too. Around closing time, they'd wander over to the fence gate and wait to be let in for the night. Plus, you gotta love an animal that can pull a tree branch down with its tongue.

For domestic animals, I'm a cat person. Cats have been great comforts in my life. I miss having a cat.

To me orangutans are so cute and intrigueing. They are so intelligent and have such fascinating faces.
Some examples having surgery
video of orangutan baby
Even just googling for images for orangutan gives heaps of cute pictures.

Those otters are awesome too, foop.

My favorite domesticated are dogs, cats and horses.

Favorite wild are felines and most raptor birds.

Koalas. And in the great dog/cat debate, I'm on the side of the cats.

When I was young, horses and dogs were my favorite. Now, I'm a crazy old cat lady.