I'm sorry but I'm going to play devils advocate here.
The word is offensive and someone complained about it. Therefore something had to be done about it!
What if the dog were called C**t or Paki or Hitler (not that it would have been called Hitler)?
I'm afraid that your reference to "one of our ethnic breterin" speaks volumes as well!
However, I do have a problem with the word nigger. How is it that it is so offensive and yet black rappers use it, sometimes to excess, in some of their songs!! Either it's offensive or it isn't!