@
Prascena
This is stricktly my personal opinion.
In a case of photo's with emotional connection people tend to expect a special altering.
But sometimes it is enough to 'clean' the picture of disturbing elements in a way to focus on the main 'object'.
Placing the focus element on a new and alien background disrupts the overall memory.
In your case the photo's were taken in your home and that entire 'ensemble' is in fact the whole memory.
In a couple of cases it would not be inappropriate to alter the picture in something special but I would not alter all of them but just clean and reposition them.
You've seen the alterations where your dog was placed on a black background. I'm sure you that did not fulfil your expectations!
By the way, here are some basic rules when photographing a specific 'object'.
http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds/
I'll show you some examples soon.