In the anime series "Cowboy Bebop", Ein is a super-intelligent Welsh Corgi. Encountered by the Bebop crew coincidentally while they tracked a bounty, Ein is rescued and adopted by Spike Spiegel, who is somewhat reluctant in the matter, and Jet Black, who displays far more enthusiasm at the prospect and becomes Ein's informal "owner".
Ein is a data dog, an animal genetically engineered to have exceptional intelligence. In fact, he may very well be smarter than the rest of the Bebop crew, including Radical Edward -- demonstrated by Ein's ability to hack into the computer systems of the cult "SCRATCH"1, after Ed's failure to do so. (As a side note, I have to point out that there are few things more hilarious than a Welsh Corgi wearing a VR helmet on its head and twitching around to access menus.) Ein does not speak English (or Japanese, depending on whether you're watching the series dubbed). Though it is unknown whether Ein can speak with other dogs, he has on one occasion thanked a cow for stopping a speeding train2. Then again, he simply may have still been tripping out.
Despite his intelligence, Ein is still the Bebop's pet, and suffers the indignities of such: relying on the crew to feed him, acting as Ed's somewhat unwilling pillow and subject for various experiments, and always accepting the verbal abuse of the crew. One can only postulate that he feels he has to keep an eye on them all, or chaos would ensue.
Ein first appeared in the episode "Stray Dog Strut". Ein's Japanese seiyuu is uncredited. Ein's voice is not dubbed over on the English soundtrack.
1 "Brain Scratch", an eerie allegory about the effect of the media on popular culture.
2 "Mushroom Samba", one of the most hilarious send-ups of blaxploitation films ever.