Usher is used to melting hearts with his moves and his music, but watching him love on a soft, sweet, cuddly dog is at least that adorable – and possibly more!

PEOPLE caught up with the 40-year-old singer recently and got the lowdown on his love for the pup he calls “his role dog.” And lots of great footage of him giving her belly rubs and kisses.

He refers to Scarlett as so many of us do our own pets, as an unwavering source of love and support.

“Some of my hardest times, she is always there with me.”

And although he notes that his sons, 10-year-old Usher V and Naivyd, 9, don’t walk Scarlett (apparently celebrity parents aren’t different than regular ones in this respect!), they have learned lessons of unconditional love for having her in their lives.

More about goldendoodles.

This “designer breed” has soared in popularity in recent years, but the goldendoodle first appeared in the 1960s – a cross between the poodle and the golden retriever (it is often called a “groodle” in Australia!) and the purpose of doing so was quite noble. The hope was to create suitable guide dogs for visually impaired people with allergies. Poodles do not shed and are therefore considered hypoallergenic.

Goldendoodles, however, are not predictably shed-free, though most do exhibit a low shed rate, and one MUCH lower than a purebred golden retriever. Over the years, they have been bred to three distinct sizes (standard, medium and miniature) and three coat types (straight, wavy and curly).

Goldendoodles are not recognized by any established breed association, but that hasn’t done a thing to tamp enthusiasm for them and in fact, they have gone on to become successful as guide, agility, therapy, search and rescue ad diabetic detection dogs, as well as beloved family pets, for they tend to possess wonderful qualities from each of their breed origins — the poodle’s intelligence and the retriever’s trainability.

They tend to be friendly, patient and loving of both children and strangers — and that super-soft and cuddly coat certainly doesn’t hurt!

We really don’t deserve dogs, but at least we can award them for being so wonderful.

This July, a six-month old golden retriever named Todd saved his owner, Paula Godwin, from a rattlesnake bite. He was recently crowned winner of the first ever “Milk-Bone Dog of the Year” award at the 8th Annual Streamy Awards for his heroism… and virality.

There are probably a thousand poems, cookie fortunes, calendar quotes and memes about how we don’t deserve dogs, all of them true, but we can do our best to celebrate them however possible. And so this year, the Streamy Awards, which honors the best in online video and its creators, added a category for dogs, “the Internet’s favorite animal.”

Streamy Awards creator, Drew Baldwin, told Billboard, “The world wouldn’t be the same without dogs, lives are often transformed because of them, and it’s time that we honor all the joy they give to us.”

Although the adorable competition was stiff, this year’s winner was Todd, a dog we told you about here at Life With Dogs back in July when he stepped between his owner and a rattlesnake while out on a hike, nearly losing his life in the process.

Todd braved the snake, and all the medical treatments that followed after being bitten, and his story — naturally — went viral.

He beat out two other contenders for the Streamy: Louboutina, “The Hugging Dog,” who found Internet fame for giving warm hugs to everyone she meets on the streets of New York City, and Pierre, a costume-donning therapy dog who who brings smiles joy to the patients at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital and travelers at LAX.

Online vote determined the outcome and Todd received a trophy and a customized piece of art from the Streamys for coming out on top.

Todd’s owner, Paula Godwin, first shared their harrowing tale on Facebook just after it happened: “So this morning was up bright and early to go on a hike on seventh street, carefree. It was a beautiful morning, but as we were walking down the hill I literally almost stepped on a mf rattlesnake. But my hero of a puppy Todd saved me. He jumped right in front of my leg where I surely would have got bit. This is what a hero looks like. Please say a little prayer for my sweet hero.”

Little Todd spent 12 hours at the vet where at times it was touch-and-go, but thanks to quick medical action and anti-venom – he made it! Godwin wants to make sure other pets will be able to get the same treatment.

“We are ecstatic because this is the first ever Milk-Bone honor, so everyone is going to remember Todd the hero dog,” she told Billboard. “We were able to start a fundraiser to help other pets, raising money for dogs who can’t afford anti-venom. There’s a lot of people out there who can’t afford the $500 dose and their pets die because of it.”

Check out Todd and all the other finalists here:

Dog lovers in Texas, the state in which everything’s bigger, should fall in love with this handsome gentle giant! His name is Stevie.

Sweet Stevie was surrendered to animal control officers in Livingston, TX, after he grew to be larger than his family was expecting. After awhile, though, his clock ran out, but just when he was next in line t be euthanized, a kind person intervened and brought him to the folks at the SPCA of Polk County.

Staffers there estimate that Stevie is about 7-and-a-half years old, but no medical expertise is needed to asses that he’s also a sweet, lovable retriever mix who really deserves a second chance to find a loving forever home.

In fact, the SPCA thought they’d found him a perfect love match, but sadly, fate again dealt Stevie a cruel hand. When the family’s situation changed, they returned him to the rescue.

Upon his arrival, SPCA doctors checked Stevie over thoroughly and found four (4) relatively large masses on his body. One of these masses was a large and hard; it sat on his right shoulder. Thanks to help from the Grey Muzzle Organization, necessary funds were secured to have the masses removed immediately.

Three of the masses were determined to be benign at this point but had the potential of becoming cancerous in the future. The large, hard culprit on his right shoulder was indeed cancer, but the veterinary staff believes that the operation was a complete success and all the malignant tissue was removed. That means that Stevie’s prognosis is excellent and whoever adopts him will likely enjoy many wonderful years with an outstandingly sweet companion!

Without the medical funds provided through the Grey Muzzle Organization grant, we may not have been able to secure medical treatment in time to save this sweet dog’s life and prevent him from future suffering. They know that senior lives are worth saving. So does the staff down at the SPCA of Polk – and they’re hoping someone else sees that, too.

Let’s help this big boy find a great new home to enrich with his bigger-than-life love and gentle, sweet spirit.

He’s a noun. He’s a verb. He’s a gorgeous, senior boy of about 8-and-a-half.

He’s DUCK!

And he needs a forever home.

This handsome gent is currently in the care of the Humane Society of Western Montana, a returning grantee of the Grey Muzzle Organization!

Duck is a distinguished fella with a heart of gold!

If you are looking for a best friend to stay by your side, he is the buddy for you.

Duck is the perfect dog to hang out in your office all day and would make a great shop dog for any business! His sweet demeanor and calm nature make him the perfect companion.

What’s even better? Duck is the Humane Society of Western Montana‘s “October Powder Hound,” so his adoption fee has been sponsored by Big Sky Brewing Company!

Visit the rescue’s website for more information on Duck!

About Grey Muzzle’s work with the Humane Society of Western Montana

The Humane Society of Western Montana is excited to partner with the Grey Muzzle Organization to help fund life-saving veterinary care for senior pets living with their forever families. A $3,000 Grey Muzzle grant to the Humane Society’s Nandi Wishcamper Senior Fund will award families funds to put towards expensive veterinary care for their dogs age 7+.

When senior pets end up in animal shelters or rescues, they often stay much longer than younger animals, hoping for a home of their own. To keep these older pets with their families, and to prevent them from entering a shelter, the Humane Society’s Nandi Wishcamper Fund provides funding to those in financial need to cover the cost of urgent veterinary care for their four-legged companions. Financial awards to families are often coupled with similar awards from Friends of the Shelter, Missoula Animal Control’s auxiliary 501(c)3 nonprofit fund.

While the Nandi Fund is available for both dogs and cats of all ages, the Grey Muzzle grant is dedicated to dogs age 7+.

The Nandi Fund originated in 2009 after Nandi, an 8 year-old German Shorthair Pointer, suddenly died. Her family set up this Fund in her memory to help people keep their pets.

Bradley Cooper has fans worldwide and he’s sure to earn a few more once they hear that he cast his own rescue pup, Charlie, in his new movie, a reboot of “A Star is Born,” in which he co-stars with Lady Gaga. The pair play musicians and lovers, Jackson and Ally. Charlie is their dog.

“There was no nepotism — I wanted this relationship with the dog… [Jackson and Ally] don’t have a child together but they have a dog together, and I wanted it to be part of their story. I love dogs,” Cooper told PEOPLE last week at the film’s Los Angeles premiere.

He also joked that since his appearance in the movie, Charlie has become pretty big time: “[he] has an agent. I don’t talk to him much anymore. He doesn’t return my calls. He always walks away from me unless I have food.”

We’ve known about Cooper’s love for dogs for awhile now, sharing with you the story of another of his rescues, Charlotte, back in 2012.

“I fell in love with her immediately,” Cooper said of the chow-retriever mix who he rescued at a 2010 adoption event in Santa Monica, California. She was known to accompany him on movie sets quite often.

She and another rescue, Samson, were a pair Cooper had been known to reference as his children.

Charlie, it turns out, is named for Cooper’s late father.

“That meant a lot for him to be in the film,” Cooper said.

Cooper had other members of his inner-circle in the movie, apparently, including a grad school buddy and even his ear doctor.

The actor joked that since getting the role, Charlie “has an agent. I don’t talk to him much anymore. He doesn’t return my calls. He always walks away from me unless I have food.”

We understand, Bradley.

And for a musical ending, here’s a video for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born song, “Shallow.”

Can a dog have a dog? In the city of Manila in the Phillippines, it would seem that not only can a dog have a dog. It can have a seeing-eye dog! And this sweet pair is taking social media by storm, according to Fox 8 Cleveland.

According to their Facebook page, Ginger and Kimchi have been “ambassaDOGS” for three years now.

Kimchi, you see, is a blind spaniel mix who’s believed to be between 9 and 12 years old, and her wonderful friend, Ginger, an 11-year-old golden retriever, serves as her companion and guide.

According to the page, the couple who owns the dogs had planned to adopt Kimchi from CARA Welfare Phillippines several years ago and brought Ginger along to meet this potential sibling. In the past, Ginger had been aggressive with other pups, so they weren’t sure it was going to work out, but the pair hit it off right away.

“We immediately took them out for a walk that turned out to be very pleasant, Ginger even licked him when we stopped for a breather,” the couple said online, “Seems like the dog, whom we later named Kimchi, chose us, and Ginger chose him.”

Kimchi was rescued after being found abandoned. He suffered from many health issues and was almost completely blind.

He lost his sight for good three years ago, but Ginger has been his seeing-eye dog ever since. The couple said that Ginger acquired this role without any formal training and that “Kimchi doesn’t mind being led around, for the most part anyway. They are always paired when we go out, a guide dog, for a blind dog!”

So inspired were they by their dogs’ devotion, and grateful to the rescue that brought the family together, not only do they volunteer for CARA, they have more than 22 companion animals!

In addition to serving as “ambassaDOGS,” both Ginger and Kimchi provide service for the community as well. The two dogs are often invited to provided emotional support to hospital patients, students, and company employees.

Surely by now you dog lovers have heard of the “snoot challenge,” but in case you and your dogs have been living under a rock of late, a quick Instagram search of the #snootchallenge hashtag proves that more than 11,000 dogs around the world have already jumped in the latest internet challenge fray. Some accomplish, some fail; both can be hilarious, as the many online videos prove.

What’s the snoot challenge?

In it, a person creates a space with his or her fingers — generally round, triangular or (awww!) heart-shaped. They then hope the dog will approach and stick its snoot in said hole (which makes for a super-cute boop-snoot photo-op).

Pics and videos of the dogs accomplishing or miserably failing the challenge have taken over various social media sites and are melting hearts and inspiring laughter everywhere. Some dogs seem to know exactly what they’re supposed to do; others, not so much.

Some are lured in with treats, others seems to have already been treat-conditioned.

Of course, this is the Internet, so there’s been no shortage of people finding reasons why the snoot challenge is dangerous, demeaning, or otherwise detrimental to the dogs’ health or self-esteem, but reports from vets have countered these claims, noting that the snoot challenge can help condition dogs to having their faces handled — a great trait for safe application of medical exams!

Additionally, some experts say that the snoot challenge can help to train dogs to wear a muzzle or post-surgical cone if ever necessary, aiding them in growing comfortable putting their snouts into small openings.

As long as owners are gentle, there is no harm to be caused during the #snootchallenge! And of course, if your pet seems uncomfortable, you should not force the dog to perform the challenge.

Live in the Richmond, VA, area?

This handsome senior may be one of the most-beloved residents at the Richmond Animal League, but they’d all be happy to see him find a forever family with whom to spend the rest of his happy life.

Affectionately known as “Uncle Havvy,” Havoc enjoys near daily outings with his best human friend, but can’t wait to find a home to call his for the rest of his happy life.

Havoc seems to get along well with other dogs, but wouldn’t be overly fussed if his future is filled with canine companions. Honestly, some of those young whippersnappers are a little too much for him! He’d rather have a billion tennis balls and a stuffed toy to chew on. (Ask him about the time he “accidentally” stole a teddy bear… twice!)

Havoc is a happy-go-lucky boy with no concept of his own age, and thanks to a grant from the Grey Muzzle Organization, he’s gotten all the medical care he needs. He’s active, and loves going on walks and car rides to the park.

Havoc’s weekend trips to Petsmart are attention-filled opportunities for him to steal the spotlight and he loves it! He would do well in a home with a family to dote on him. He might do better with more mature children, since he’s a big boy, but he really does love every person he meets. He is not recommended to a home with cats. He does love other dogs, especially ones his own size, but a slow introduction would be best since he’s a little hard of hearing.

To give Havoc a forever home, send visit ral.org and send in your application today!

A word about the Grey Muzzle Organization….

“If you’re fortunate, you have lived, or currently live, with an old dog. As cherished companions, the old dogs in our lives enrich our days for as long as we are privileged to have them,” this fine organization writes on its website.

With so few rescue groups in the United States that specialize in helping homeless senior dogs, this organization was founded to help fill this great need for programs unique to old dogs. They partner with rescues interested in giving their senior intakes the best possible chance at finding a new family, funding things like in-home hospice care or general medical help for pups who tend to need more (including financial help for families who might need some assistance as their dog ages). For more information, visit their website.