Does anyone else here *work* with animals?

I have always had a companion animal. They usually *picked* me. My current companion, Siona, was an unexpected rescue. She is very communicative with myself and my son. People constantly tell me "That's NOT a dog! That's a person in a dog suit!", because of how expressive and communicative she can be.
She has warned me of dangers that I was unaware of, comforted me when I was sad, celebrated when she saw me happy, helps me find my car keys and pushed me into doing things I never would have chose to do myself.

When I meditate, she sits quietly by my side. When I am done, she gets up, stretches in a manner that would make a yoga master proud and takes me outside for our walk.

I sometimes run decisions or choices I have to make past her before I finalize anything. I know it may sound silly, but sometimes if I go against what seems to be HER choice, I quickly found out I made a mistake.

I have come to consider her my *guide animal*. She is sometimes in my dreams, clearing paths for me when all seems chaotic and confused. When I wake after such a dream, I invariably find her staring at me attentively--she seems to know where we were and what we were doing in *our* dream.

I have read how many shamans possessed a *guide animal* and it seems I have one now.