Idk why everyone hates hammers around here? Dogs are property, regardless of how fondly you do or don't feel towards the animal. You own it, period. Tools are property. Your dog might be a good tool or a poor tool, that's on you. Yours happens to be a tool to cure loneliness. Now, I love and would defend my living property more vigorously than my similarly priced nonliving property, but none of this make my dogs *family*.