> Many post-agricultural revolution civilizations predicated on small family cells and strict property and succession rules would have been impossible without a dog to pet.

That's silly. US Midwest farmers meet every detail up until "would have been impossible"; dogs are common but not ubiquitous, and farming communities are highly social.

(Cats, ironically, are ubiquitous on farms, because of their utility at hunting mice and rats.)

Ironically, you're describing the classic "cat lady" trope, only with the wrong pet type.