I love the picture of the canine friend. I had a malamute wolf cross for a friend too. He came to me as a stray and stayed for life. He was huge, about 140lbs and with his paws on my shoulder was taller than me. We called him Old Man because he seemed to be just a little old man in a big fur coat. He was my best friend and guru. He taught me to never run when walking would do, always check everything out before committing to it and to turn around three times before sitting down. He liked cats too and always had to a feline companion to keep him company when I was at work. He even raised three orphaned kittens once. He would corner them and then give them a good cleaning with his tongue. They would be sopping wet by the time he was done, so they would crawl up into his thick fur coat to warm up and take a nap. I still miss how he would come up and put his big head in my lap to let me know all was well with our world.