I think I if any animal deserves to be uplifted, it is the dog.
Since prehistory, the dog has been with us. It has been companion, workmate, and guardian. I know of no animal that so totally accepts us as the domestic dog. On any list of uplifts, they'd be up there near the top. We've been determining their genetic destiny for a long time now, so I think we have a responsibility to their species. I can think of quite a few dogs that I would raise to SI before some humans<G>.