Here is a large grey dog named Mouse. You can find him on the road just outside Winterhold, waiting for someone who needs him by their side. He is essential, because there is nothing more heartbreaking than losing your beloved, faithful companion to your own spell or arrow.

He's stronger than the average dog. I mean, look at him! He's huge!

If you want a quiet Mouse, try Sneaky Canines, which works on any dog that uses the standard animations.

Mouse isn't specifically AFT-compatible out of the box, but using the AFT "Make Follower" power on him works. He uses a custom dog race and hi-res textures (higher than vanilla, anyway), but the vanilla dog meshes. (Other follower management mods may work as well, but AFT is what I'm currently using so it's what I've tested.) By doing this, you will be able to use "Dismiss, but remain here".

If you aren't using a follower management mod of some sort, he will have the standard dog follower behavior (as seen in the famous "Stray Dog" and "Meeko"), and will return to Winterhold if dismissed. He does, however, come with custom player dialog lines, just for flavor. 

I'm not planning on doing much of anything with this. I made it because someone besides me (two someones, even!) was interested in having it. I'm not taking requests for changes, because there are so many wonderful animal companion mods already on the Nexus - if Mouse doesn't work for you, I'm certain there's one out there that will.

Special thanks to Darkfox127 for his awesome tutorials!