I was quite against this idea. Getting a dog, I told him, was akin to having a baby that never grows out of infancy. Dogs, like babies, are totally reliant on their humans. Plus, I said, I didnât really like dogs, and thought the feeling was mutual. Mike laughed. He told me dogs make it their mission to convert those they sense donât like them. While I was skeptical about that, I lost the dog battle almost eight years ago when Cooper, a Brittany, came into our home. We picked him up in Ohio, and I was tasked with holding him on my lap in the passenger seat on the drive home.