A cat might suit your immediate needs better, since they can be left alone for days as long as they have food and water. They shit and piss in a box, and you don't have to train them, they come from the factory knowing how to be a cat. You can't take it for walks or use it as a travel companion, they're territorial and tend to run away when you take them outside their home range. But a cat will make a house seem more like a home.