I grew up with Collies, had a St. Bernard and now Golden Retrievers. I have loved them all but the goldens are so human. They are wonderfully loving, loyal and entertaining. We lost Ruby over a year ago and I can still feel her spirit in our house. She was our ring leader and since she has gone to the Rainbow Bridge our house is sooooooo quiet. We still have Lucy who is 14.5 but definitely more of a quiet companion. She is getting very frail and can no longer go up the stairs and we think she is losing her sight but she still gives us such love and companionship.

Over the years I've had many different breeds from Shi Tuzs to Greyhounds. All have a special place in my heart. We lost our last greyhound, Lizzie, my avatar, last October and I still miss her. All of mine have been rescues except for one Siberian Husky who was the dog from He**. I will NEVER get another dog from a pet store. The other Siberians were great dogs and one would carry on a conversation with you. You didn't know what she was saying but she would act like you did. The greys (I've had 6) were all 40MPH couch potatoes. Great companions but not guard dogs. The sable Shepherd we had was the guard dog. She was the sweetest thing until she sensed a threat to one of us. She never bit anyone but sure scared the daylights out of door-to door salemen.

I have had 2 part chow dogs one golden retriever and one black lab mix and they are such good dogs, train well. But I love my Great Dane and mini Schnauzer and Coon Hound mix too. My most troublesome dog was part Beagle and she was a wanderer, by time she died at 13 she have seen almost all the town I lived in at the time and spent nights at strangers' homes. As sweet as she was, she worried me a lot with her "walk abouts" as a friend called them. Only Beagle traight I do not like - digging out.

Cocker Spaniels. They are so loving, not much shedding and contrary to what some folks told me before I got one they are not dumb. We also had a sheperd mix that was great.

We had a Border Collie mix that looked a lot like Heloveme's dog but with a bit of white on the toe tips, tail tip, and muzzle tip. Her name was Matilda and she was the best dog we have had yet. She was found with 5 of her litter mates on the side of a nearby road in a box and when we saw the photo of them in the paper, we just had to go get one as we had recently lost a dog. She was a great companion and we could leave her off the leash most of the time. Her companion, another rescue 6 months later, on the other hand was a nut case but very loving and a good watch dog. Still, Til (as we called her) was our best dog yet. Don't have a photo to show. She has been gone for a while now.

Don't we all love to talk about our beloved pets. I have had many dogs over the years. All different breeds, all rescues. We had a collie when my son was small, poodle mix and my mother's poodle after she died, lab mix, doberman mix (about the time I was divorced). I never felt afraid to be alone when I had that dog. Now I have Missy whose mission in life is to play and have people play with her. The nicest dog I ever had was a mix who should have weighed around 15 to 18 pounds. He had such bad skin allergies he would dig himself raw. We had to bathe him ever two days because he smelled so bad. He was the nicest dog, never had a bad attitude, only wanted to please, and he never complained. Always asked if he could go in the car with us, jump on the bed, just so polite. He was on steriods most of his life but it was only a temporary fix. He lived to be 11.

RESCUE!! the best dogs ever-they KNOW they were wanted and will return the love-

I have a Kelpie cross-my alpha dog, oldest at 11-she is from Australia and we brought her back with us when we moved back to the US-sweet, protective, great with the cats and loves kids.

Our golden lab is a pain the the ass-she is a wuss of the first order-also Australian, she is 10-would be lost without her as she is the best cuddle dog ever-loving, a scaredy cat and lets the other animals run all over her.

Just adopted a black and tan coon hound-6 month old and a holy tear-she is loving, active, drives the other 2 nuts and uses the lab as a chew toy. she wants to be a lap puppy and likes to chew on anything not tied down and then some. Smart but stubborn. Forgot how times consuming it is to train a baby!

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Abs and Sassy Jezabelle Abs, Cyn, Sass

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are the best dog for me. I was nervous around dogs for years after being badly bitten by a friend's Afghan. No one could be afraid of Molly. She is 15 lbs of love, wagging tail and doggie kisses. Cavaliers are great with kids, not prone to barking and don't have a mean bone in their body (unless you happen to be a squirrel or chipmunk). They are smart and easy to train.

Please see my avatar. His name is Stitches and he'll turn 18 in October. He was a rescue. Vet says he's probably a mixed breed terrier. Personally I think he may have some Llaso in him. He is bright, loyal and wonderful company. It has been the most wonderfully rewarding experience adopting a rescue. I would never do anything but now.

My favorite pure bred is an Olde English Sheepdog. I had two females, Sophie and Maggie. Lost Maggie to pancreatic cancer at 5, Maggie to lymphoma at 13. Very loyal, loving dogs. Sophie brilliantly smart. Maggie, ridiculously dittsy until age 3. Lots of grooming, need lots of exercise. Horribly prone to cancer.

Also had a basset hound Beauregard. Very kind and gentle but STUBBORN. Loved him to pieces but he tried every bit of patience I had, every day and in every way. Believe I had Beau for 12 years.

My favorite dog ever was a Wheaten Terrier. I loved that dog like a kid. He was so laid back and smart! He knew what I was thinking before I thought of it. He was a hunter and a tracker but a real pussycat. If I could afford one again and if I weren't so old, I'd have another.