Dogs are indeed amazing, I've grown up with a whole lot and couldn't really imagine living without at least one:) My parents have a New Foundland kennel so dogs have always been around but I've had three dogs that were truly my own during my life but though I love them all it's my first dog Molly, a New Foundland, that I had the deepest bond with. We got her when she was 1 ½ years old and all her life she'd run loose without rules so when she came she didn't even know her own name but we connected from day one, Molly had been with us for barely a week when I took her in a leash and took a bicycle ride with her giving my mother a heartattack in the process;P but Molly behaved like she had been doing it all her life. Eventually she obeyed mostly me, could go without a leash and not run off, be directed with my voice and so on and she really helped me make it through when my horse had to be put down because of his terrible asthma at the same time i started highschool. And she could wag her tail like no one else and even won a tail wagging contest once;) She almost reached age twelve when she dropped dead one day when I was in school, its been seven years but I still miss her. My dog that I have now, Steffie, apparently found me likeable too as she hid in my room for weeks from the moment she got here, only going outside if necessary, she had not had it easy in her previous home as when we got her back from her owner we could barely catch her to get her inside, she shyed away from dogs and humans alike and she almost had a heartattack when I sneazed nearby her. Now she is almost completely back to normal but she always knows where I am and she is very unsure in new surroundings and doesn't approach others eagerly when not at home but she is the sweetest dog there is otherwise:)
Except for wannabe lifesaver dogs that want to save me from ankel deep water I've never had an animal save my life really, one of our males, Sluggo, helped warn me off a fire in our kitchen, he barked and panicked until he jumped over the fence between the kitchen and the hall, I was awake but he alerted me in time to get the other dogs out before dousing the fire. The fire really choose the worst moment to start with us having other females in heat, male dogs and with mom in Finland to breed one of our females and dad who's in a wheelchair couldn't get out of bed without electricty in the house>.<
For loving animals I include them far too little in my RP's and texts in general though, but my character in Hiding in Plain Sight that I play with Anime-Otaku12 has a horse, she hasn't done much yet but she is supposed to be a well trained vaulting horse.
Now I've rambled on again as always happens when I get started on our dogsXD