I don't have a dog at the moment, but I have had two very special canine friends. One was simply named "Dog" and she was only with me a short while. A little black & white border collie stray that followed me home from work one day. I couldn't say no and brought the filthy flea bag up to my apartment. She was sweet and cuddly and always in the garbage! After about 6 months with me, she developed brain tumors. I had an appointment with a doggy neurologist but she didn't make it.
The other woofy love of my life was Lucy, short for "Lucy-fur" though her personality was a bit Lucille Ball. She was a wild Malamute/Wolf, goofy, lovable and with one hell of a personality. I have sooooo many stories of her antics and capers- climbing a 7 foot fence, stealing PB&J's, putting on my lipstick, singing with the radio, eating over 4 dozen Christmas cookies, finding one buried solitary soggy sandy potato chip on the whole beach.... She was such a character. Unfortunately, she went to live with my former in-laws and they never brought her in for her shots. She succumbed to heart-worm at the ripe old age of 13.
Both Dog and Lucy were members of the family and I loved them as much as any person. I love my cats too, do anything for them, but they're, you know, CATS. I would run into a burning building to save them only to have them run away from me, find their own way out and I would end up a charcoal briquette.