Interesting question, indeed!
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A DOG is man's best friend. Don't take my word for it. Ask any dog owner.
"A dog is the only thing on Earth that loves you more than he loves himself," one said.
Which is true.
Mind you, a dog is easy to impress.
As someone else said: "Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on Earth."
Everybody likes dogs.
Charles Dickens, Ann Boleyn, the Duke of Wellington, George Washington and Winston Churchill were all dog lovers.
Sigourney Weaver has a greyhound called Baci (it's Italian for kisses), Justin Timberlake has two Yorkshire Terriers called Bearlie and Bella and Charlize Theron has a cocker spaniel called Delilah.
Prime ministers, presidents, kings, queens and dictators have all had canines to turn to in moments of stress, unpopularity and disaster.
And these wonderful animals, that sometimes seem more intelligent than humans, have claimed fame in their own right, too.
Nipper the terrier launched the HMV record label and was well-known around the world. Toto, Dorothy's dog, got to walk the yellow brick road to Oz, Lassie and Rin Tin Tin saved many a situation, 101 Dalmatians made a million children cheer out loud and The Lady and The Tramp brought tears as well smiles.
Timmy was always faithful in The Famous Five, Pickles was the hero that found the Jules Rimet trophy when it was stolen in London during the 1966 World Cup, Crab starred in Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen Of Verona and we have even had K9 in Dr Who.
And who didn't become misty-eyed when Elvis sang about Old Shep?
You may have gathered by now that I am a big fan of dogs. Always have been since I grew up with a brown mongrel called Jack that was always willing to play with me even if the other kids didn't want to.
Many other four-legged friends have come and gone since. Beauty the cocker spaniel, Sam the shaggy- haired sheepdog mix, Jane the bull terrier, Podge the Jack Russell and now Lucky, the labrador cross.
Lucky is a heavyweight. A big black dog with a white question mark on her chest, that we inherited. She's seven years old and we've had her a year, she wags her tail at every opportunity and is the most intelligent animal we've ever had and shows every emotion. Well, almost.
"You can tell when she's happy and excited," said Maria.
Just reach for her lead to take her for a walk and she goes barmy.
"She can show love and affection. And she becomes sad if you tell her off."
Not that she gets told off very often.
"So she has this full range of emotions except one," she said. "Laughter. How do you make a dog laugh?"
This is a conundrum that only my wife could come up with.
Can dogs laugh? Do they have a sense of humour?
Do they split their sides if the cat slips on a banana skin and falls on its bum?
Or would they fail to respond even if they spent an hour with Ken Dodd and a tickling stick?
Does anyone have an answer?
Can dogs laugh?
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