2Pups, it sounds like a Husky or Malamute might be a good match for you! The Malamute is quite a bit larger than the Husky, but they share many traits. I've been told that sometimes the Malamutes can be a little easier to work with, but I really don't know from any personal experience if this is true or not. I've never lived with a Husky, but did foster a beautiful Malamute girl for a couple of months (I would have kept her myself, but Purdue was about 10 years old at the time and was far too jealous to tolerate her - and she was too jealous to tolerate him) and she was a delightful dog, full of life, very affectionate and very protective of me. She was perfectly fine with our cat, too.
One thing about the Malamutes is that they have never achieved the popularity of the Husky and have not been quite as overbred.
It might not be too difficult to find either a Husky or Malamute at a rescue, either a general rescue or a breed specific rescue.