Black Dogs Options

Forgive me if this is the wrong forum to post this in, but I haven’t seen anything about it yet.
Throughout my childhood I often saw a large black dog following me or walking around my yard at night. It would come and go but was mainly present during times of high stress. Anytime I asked anyone I was with about it they told me they didn’t see anything and thought I was just imagining things.
I’ve tried looking it up online and collected a few folktales about them but most seem to imply that it is a death omen of sorts. Given that I’m a live after twenty some odd years of seeing it I rather think the folktales are off a bit but I’m unsure as to why its there and what if anything I should be doing about it.
It has shown up in a few pictures I’ve taken during rituals, even though no one saw it at the time. I thought it might be some sort of familiar except that it always feels vaguely threatening. Anyone have a similar experience or advice?

Well this might sound silly for most of you that don't like Christian beliefs, but I know a Catholic priest who told my family once of his strange paranormal experiences. At the time, I had no real interest in the occult. He said that one of the strangest and most recurring thing for him on a regular basis is that every time he gives mass, a large black dog trots into the church, and sits in front of him just staring at him. First time he saw it he asked someone to escort it outside, and everyone simply looked at him like he was crazy. Later he asked a bishop about it, and he said that it was the "devil". He said that even the devil likes to go to mass.

Like I said, it sounds kind of silly, but I guess it depends on one's belief system.