There's something about having a pet, or playing with someone else’s. There's a certain calm that comes over you when you pet one, and a sense of childhood when you play with one. It's not only dogs, any pet that you can be interactive with, probably not a goldfish due to its boundaries. If you were to ask me would I prefer a dog or a thousand dollars, let’s just say I’ll be working very hard to buy some chew toys.
There are of course people with irrational fear of animals; maybe they had a bad experience. Coming near a dog (or animal) right down scares them. I think they should one, get help, or two begin to enjoy living with a pet and get over their fear. Also, people who are allergic to dogs (or the certain type of pet they want), if their allergies aren't too bad they should often visit a friend with a domestic pet, and play with them, but wash their hands well after words. Now for the people with harsh allergic reactions, they should a Tomagotchi or an online virtual pet. The idea of playing with a pet is still there though if virtual.