Long gone audio critic Peter Aczel used to raise mastiffs. Purebred. I guess you don't have to worry about anyone breaking in and stealing your Mark Levinson if you have a couple of mastiffs roaming the house.
More a cat person. Cats can be friendly, but never your friend. The reason they don't eat you is they are so small. I like dogs for the most part, even though I never had much luck with them. Can be more faithful than people. That much is clear. Because I want to be on top of the household food chain I would never own a dog that could rip my (or anyone else's) face off. I don't get that. A hound like Duke. Jed Clampett's dog--just sit on the front porch and hang. Friendly. I'd go for that.
I'm not sentimental. For me it's like the Nuge said: Remember the movie Old Yeller? Everybody loved him. He brought us our slippers. We gave him cookies. But when Old Yeller gets rabies, you shoot him in the @#%$ head. It's that simple. That horrifies some. People who like dogs probably dislike me for that. But it's how I feel.