My grandmother always had a dog. The first I remember was a black cocker spaniel called Pip. When Pip died she got a mutt called Rusty. My niece now has a cat called Maisie and my brother and sister in law just lost their springer spaniel Cody.
My parents, parents in law and sister were never "pet" people and while they tolorated our various dogs, they were not exactly enthusiastic. Too bad - they don't know what they missed.