Nice thoughts.
We don't currently have a dog, but we love our neighbor's dog, Garth. He comes to join me when I go out into the yard to sit under a tree in the shade to read. He curls up beside my chair, leaning against my leg, and continually surveys the neighborhood. I felt something on my leg, looked down and saw a spider crawling up, Garth looked over, saw the spider, leaned over, and quickly snatched it up. I love Garth.
We have a great accommodation with out neighbors. Garth uses our yard as a latrine, and we put a plastic chair in the yard where he makes his deposits, and they come to clean it up. It's the best dog that I've never owned.