I like dogs, but I've had some bad experiences with them. I also have anxiety issues and I get really terrified whenever anyone invades my personal space unexpectedly or worse, touches me without permission - and since most dogs have no concept of personal space, they can make me really uncomfortable just by being their friendly selves. Also, I think that I might give off a vibe that dogs don't like - an awfully high percentage of them have been aggressive with me.

Brief summary of my experiences with dogs so far in life:

• I volunteered at the local animal shelter walking dogs with my dad and I loved it. The dogs liked me too, no aggression ever.

• I had two dogs as a young kid: a German Shepard when I was 4 and a Newfoundland/Tibetan Mastiff mix when I was 8. Both of them attacked me within a few months of bringing them home, so my family found new homes for both of them.

• When I was 15, I fostered an 8 month old pit bull with a skin condition. She was a sweetheart and I loved her, but it was only for 2 months.

• My best friend all through middle and high school had 2 pit bulls, and I was completely in love with them. They seemed to like me too.

• I was a personal assistant in high school and that involved walking my boss's dog. He was indifferent about me.

• In my first "grown up" house, I had a roommate with some sort of Boxer/Mastiff mix who never got walked and was a little stir-crazy. The dog, Bella, would greet me when I came home every day by jumping on my shoulders and knocking me onto the ground (I'm a skinny 5'2" girl, she was bigger and way stronger than me). I didn't enjoy that, but I dealt with it. One day, I came home and went in the back gate instead of the front door. I guess Bella didn't recognize me, because she bit me on the top of my head, pulled me to the ground, and started shaking her head, flinging me around. One of my other roommates rescued me by pulling us apart, and I told Bella's owner that the dog needed to stay in her room until she found a new home, which she did a few days later.

• in that same house, there were two small dogs: a chihuahua and a small corgi mix. The chihuahua was kind of annoyingly needy, but I got along with both of them just fine.

• at my next house, there were 2 big dogs, probably both golden retriever mixes, age 9 and 14. They weren't very well trained and would bark for 20 minutes straight whenever anything happened, especially me coming home, which gave me terrible anxiety. I was so afraid of them after 5 months that I decided to move out (there were other factors, but this was a big one)

• at my current place, one of my roommates has this adorable dog. I don't know her breed, she looks like a readheaded labradoodle. She is super mellow and polite, and I'm not afraid of her at all. She never barks, and doesn't even greet me at the door - she waits about 10 feet away from the door wagging her tail and wanting affection, but doesn't invade my space or demand it.

So I really would prefer not to live with a dog next year. Especially because I don't know what kind of dog owner my future roommate will be - he'd be getting the dog after we move in together, so I'd have a say in the choice of dog, but I wouldn't be able to know how well he'll be able to train the dog. He was thinking of a whippet, but is open to other breeds.

I'm a huge cat person and want a cat, and he likes cats but prefers dogs. I'm just not sure whether I should put my foot down and say "no dogs, I'm afraid of them" or if I should try to compromise.

For context, we're all college students, and we're going to be living in a group of between 4 and 8 students. I will have my own room. Also worth noting is that the guy who wants a dog comes from an extremely wealthy family, so there's no concern about paying for a pet's needs on a college budget.

TL;DR: I've been attacked by 3 different dogs and am really afraid of them now, even though I've also had lots of good relationships with dogs. My future roommate wants to get a dog while we're living together, should I say absolutely not or should I try to cope?