What are dogs for you?

What  are dogs for you? What do they mean for you? Are they part  of your family? People have different views about these questions.
 
Some people have their pets as a member of their families, pets are just like the rest. The family go all together( dog is included) in Summer to the beach or village or wherever they go and they get the most out of it. Children and adults love him ( I refuse to treat pets as objects) and care him lifelong.

Others treat pets as things, such as working tools ( animals are used to take care of the cattle or help in hunting in villages, for example) or protection against burglars. For those, dogs are just tools, animals that have a task and when they can not carry out it owners get rid of them.
 
I have a dog, he is part of my family, he is 11 years and he knows a lot of my secrets, likes and dislikes. We enjoy a lot together, we have travelled a lot ( if he could not go, I would not go either). We take care and love eachother. I do not even want to think about the day in which he was not here with me.