I find that most dogs belong to the endless money pit - financial strain of survival. I love dogs and owned a few over the years, but they can be expensive over their lifetime that now often exceeds 10-12 years (depending on breed and size) due to the advances in veterinary care.

If were to own a dog again, it would not be ownership based on a supposed survival aid.
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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock