My youngest brother is Rudy, he of the Ph.D., and for a while (he lives mostly alone since his three children have families of their own) he owned a dog so beautiful that people would comment on it when they visited him. He would let the dog have the run of his yard, and one day the dog disappeared. Stolen. You know how animals provide companionship.
Rudy figured out a solution before he finished his search of local dog pounds and veterinarians. He went to an SPCA affiliated pound and said, “Show me the ugliest dog on your premises.”
They showed him the one they couldn’t give away because nobody wanted him–Logan. Rudy took him home. He was part Irish Wolfhound, scraggly. Logan got to love Rudy, follow some rudimentary obedience training, and now Rudy’s worried about who will take care of the dog when Rudy’s gone.
Civilization 