Kari this guy sounds really good. He has love and respect for you, he cooks, he loves dogs. Ok all blokes can be a bit slobbish at times, it's in our nature I think. But with subtle training I'm sure you can overcome that problem. Carole has worked at me for seven years and I'm a fairly neat person now (of course my bachelor pad is a distant memory ). I think I might have mentioned this in another thread but if this fellow is the one that you want to be with when things are bad, then he is most likely your life partner. It's your partners love that will sustain you through the hard times.
I'm sure it will work out for you. Go for it girl.