Since time immemorial when man first cosied up by the fire with a canine, we’ve loved them for their loyalty and unconditional devotion. Dogs have guarded our homes, helped us find food and slobbered their way into our hearts. We forgive them more than we would human companions: almost any amount of noise, smelliness and razai-hogging is invariably dismissed as a charming quirk of character. We need to get back to celebrating real dogs – those of any breed and none – that can put in time at actually being a dog, whether that’s rooting out a family of rats, chasing sticks, shredding the mail or teaching us all just what uncomplicated, unalloyed joy looks like.