I can’t count the number of times that the happiness of a dog has flowed in my direction, but it’s one of the reasons I have dogs.  Surely, it’s one of the reasons we all have dogs. We don’t spend nine billion dollars a year on dog food just to have dog hair all over our couches.

 — Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend