So did Jonah Goldberg.
Our best dog ever, Rusty the genius Irish Setter (no, that's not an oxymoron), lived the first two years of his life in a pen on my grandparents' farm. And even after he spent years living with us, he was always delighted to see my grandpa again.
We've spent thousands of years breeding the perfect companion animal. Of course, we bred them to love us. :)