DogBlog- A perplexing question

Recently, someone asked the question "Why do you have so many dogs if they don't DO anything?  You don't do dog sports or hunt or whatever..why so many?".

Very, very rarely do I find myself speechless.

It's true we don't do anything *formal* with our dogs.
No obedience (the US does not produce enough Xanax for me to deal with the Chaos Dogs and obedience trials), no sports, no hunting. 
What do we do with them? 
We exist with them.  We weave them into nearly every moment of our lives. 

Yes, I am getting sappy and mushy.  Don't worry, it will pass.

We hike with the dogs and swim with the dogs. We read and watch tv with dogs. We cook meals and clean house and garden with the dogs.  We run errands and go for drives with the dogs.
We laugh with them, and we lean on them in grief. 
I don't see my dogs as my kids.  I understand the comparison.  We're responsible for them as we are with children.  We love them and feel protective, as with children.  But, my dogs are my partners and protectors and companions- they look after my physical and emotional well-being, too.

We'll call them Furred BFFs..except dogs have one up on friends sometimes:
When we are so damned hurt and angry with each other the dogs don't try to point out how amazing our relationship is, how the bigger man would apologize first, that we just had an epic fight over something insanely stupid.  They let us work through our jackassery in silence. They know we're morons and love us anyway. Quietly.

I felt the need to defend myself..and that drives me crazy.

We're happy with our four dogs that don't do anything.

We live good lives with them.  That's what we do with them.