Maltese

You watch your Maltese strut across the living room floor with their silky white coat trailing behind them like a tiny bride walking down the world's shortest aisle — head up, dark eyes locked on yours, absolutely certain they are the most important creature in any room they enter. They're four pounds of pure audacity wrapped in hair that costs more to maintain than your own. You'll catch them perched on the highest pillow in the house, surveying their kingdom, and when they look at you with those licorice-drop eyes from underneath that perfect center part, you understand why ancient royalty kept them on velvet cushions. Your Maltese doesn't think they're a small dog. Your Maltese doesn't think they're a dog at all. They are a companion, a confidant, and a tiny white shadow who has not let you go to the bathroom alone since the day they came home.