Sometimes Sammy has so many people waiting on him, Stephanie thinks he’s more human than dog

He’s the best thing since sliced bread – a human with four paws. He's not easy to wake in the morning because he likes to stay wrapped up in my dressing gown until I get sorted.

He enjoys the perks of two houses, as he passes between ours and the neighbours via his own self-made gate in the fence. He goes there to play and comes home to sleep.

He’s the best thing since sliced bread

He loves ‘hunt the treat’ games, as well as the usual doggy toys. He asks to go out for a wee by peeping round the corner of the room and giving a small 'chuff' sound. He also makes the same noise when he wants to come up on the sofa – he’s a dog with manners.

He has his own masseuse (my friend), his own eye cleaner (my husband) and his own bottom cleaner (me). Can you get any more human than that? Or is he just a spoilt pooch? We love him loads, for all his traits.

Dog-obsessed Danielle feels complete now that Millie is in her life.

I've grown up with dogs all my life. I used to have two German Shepherds, Sabre and Levi. By the time we sadly lost my two best friends, I was 21 and was just beginning my life after university. I met my partner and moved to Manchester for work. Since the beginning of our relationship, I made it clear that I wanted to have a dog in my life again. Sometimes, it felt like it might not happen for another 10 years with work and so on.

But everything fell into place in November 2019 when we brought Millie, our Labradoodle, into our lives. My boyfriend has never had a dog before and Millie has 100% stolen his heart and made him as dog-obsessed as me.

Having Millie in our life is like a hole has been filled

She's the most loving and chilled out puppy I have ever known. I was ready for the madness and chaos that comes with a puppy but we never really had it. She has many quirks, including sitting upright on the sofa like a human being. She loves to snuggle up into your arms and she's the perfect size to do so.

She is tennis ball-mad, and makes us take her out at 8 pm on the dot for her tennis ball chasing hour! Morning walks are reserved for a gentle stroll through our local woods.

Having Millie in our life is like a hole has been filled. Taking her for her morning walk gives me such a feeling of calm before the day ahead. It's our special time when nothing else in the world matters.

Our life now revolves around planning adventures with Millie and doing everything we can to give her the best years of her life. We often ask ourselves what we used to do before we had a dog. Watching her grown, learn and blossom into an adult dog fills us with so much pride – we can kind of see why people might have children!

Poppy is at the centre of Rosemary’s household, whether she’s looking out for the kids or making everyone laugh

Our Poppy has become the life and soul of our home, even though she’s afraid of the cat. She encourages us to discover local beauty spots we never knew existed, and we’ve set ourselves the challenge of exploring more this year and getting to know our country better.

Poppy is best friends with our four-year-old, as well as our teenage sons, for whom she acts like a therapy dog. It’s crazy how she seems to be so completely in tune with the kids.

She seems to be so completely in tune with the kids

Our eldest son and his family adore her too, and marvel at how protective she is over our one-year-old grandson. She always pushes herself between him and the cooker or lays across the stairs in case he gets hurt.

True to Cockapoo character, she’s as daft as a brush, always bringing you toys to throw. She loves people and is still working out the kinks of dog training. We just couldn’t be without her, and no matter how tough your day, she makes sure you know you’re valued and important.

Despite his poor health, Chino isn’t letting life get him down – and Michelle loves him all the more for it

Chino came into my life when I really needed him. He made life worth living. He's my shadow, always where I am. But he has cancer. So, he’s in the vet twice a week at the moment for blood tests and chemo.

He made life worth living

The vet says he is an amazing boy. He lets them do whatever they need to and still wags his tail and is pleased to see them. He's my brave boy. He still loves life and is having fun. He still shows his hatred of the postman. And I caught him sitting ON the dining room table last week – something he hasn't done since he was a puppy.

We're on borrowed time as we know remission is unlikely to last long once chemo finishes in April, but we are trying to make the most of our time together. I can't imagine life without him.

Rhubarb is a family dog through and through, who looks out for Gill and his other humans as much as his fellow four-legged companions.

Rhubarb, our Cocker Spaniel, was born to one of our other Cockers Poppi. Sadly, she only had two pups and Rhubarb was the only one to survive.

Rhubarb became a firm favourite in our household and quickly settled in with his mum and his ‘Uncle Bruce’, another Cocker eight years his senior. He followed Bruce everywhere and loved nothing better than to snuggle up with him. One day, we had gone out and left our daughter asleep in bed, with the back door left open for the dogs to go in and out. Rhubarb started barking and running around our daughter’s room. He wouldn’t stop, so she followed him out to find Bruce in the Koi fish pond! 

Rhubarb had saved his life

The gate had been left open and Bruce had fallen in and couldn’t get out. He was swimming out of his depth and tiring quickly – he was getting old and had poor eyesight, which didn’t help. Luckily, my daughter is a veterinary nurse and she quickly pulled him out and put him in a warm shower. Rhubarb had saved his life.

Thankfully, Bruce suffered no long term consequences from his adventure and lived until he was 13. Rhubarb has continued to be a wonderful friend and constant companion to us all since. He loves playing with his toys and running around the estuary beach near our home. He will always be our little hero.

He’s on the far right in the photo, with his mum on the left and ‘Uncle Bruce’ in the middle.

Cara may be a dog, but Maria-Elena believes we can all learn from her kindness

Cara comes from Romania, which is also were I’m from. She never stops surprising me with her endless love and empathy. One of the things I admire most about her is the way she cares for others. If she finds someone in trouble, she’ll immediately alert me so I can help them. She also protects anyone or anything she deems vulnerable and is a great friend to birds and small creatures.

My dog is magic

She quickly adapted to living in Devon and has even joined me in working at a nursing home. Cara helps to make the residents there smile again, bringing them some joy and laughter in their darkest moments. My dog is magic, and I could never even come close to helping others in the way shedoes every day.