Excellent thread!
I have two. Dakota, my 8 year old shepherd/lab mix, is my buddy. Won't leave the yard, excellent excellent watchdog, great with my son. I'm not ashamed to say i'll shed tears when he goes.
Then we have Ryley, a red Husky. Beautiful dog. She was my wife's sister's dog, but she had to get rid of her. Gorgeous dog, and extremely well tempered. Unless my son gets too close when she's eating. Me she won't nip at, him she will. Gotta break her of that. She sheds like the dickens, doesn't come when she's called, and even though I have an acre and a half back yard, that's completely fenced, she can't go out without being on a lead since she will escape.
A couple months back, we had a milk delivery guy come at 0230 (new guy with wrong address). Dakota started barking and woke us up. I opened the bedroom door to investigate. As soon as the door gets halfway open, in runs Ryley, who then jumps on my bed next to my wife. Dang scaredy cat. Of course, being on my bed covered it with fur.
And of course, just my luck, she absolutely loves me and wants to be around me constantly.