puppy love

If you know me, you know that I've been obsessed with getting a puppy for a long long time. Unfortunately I married a man who used to be terrified of dogs. Seriously, if there was a dog on the street, even a tiny little fluffy one, he'd switch positions to be farthest away from it. He changed to hating them and now he just dislikes them. To add to it I have asthma and I'm allergic to animal dander, pollen and all of that good stuff. Still it doesn't deter me from wanting a cute little puppy to call my own. We had a dog growing up and for the first 14 years of my life I was convinced I'd be a veterinarian and have a gaggle of dogs. I collected pictures and was mildly obsessed. It went away for a while but its coming back with a vengeance.

I found a compromise for me and my hubs. Husband is concerned about the size of our apartment and keeping an animal inside. I understand we live in a small Boston apartment but if we wait to get a dog until we move, it'll be a minimum of 4 years before we get one. So we would compromise by getting a smaller dog (but not too small) and making sure that its comfortable with spending time outside on our deck. Our neighbors dog (a big gorgeous black lab) spends a lot of time on the deck and we are getting it redone now so I think it should be fine. To address my allergy issues, I wanted to get a dog that is hypoallergenic. Turns out, there is really no such thing. As Wikipedia says

The significant allergen for most people is a protein found in the dog's saliva and dander, produced by the sebaceous glands.^[2] "Even if you get a hairless dog, it's still going to produce the allergen," Dr. Wanda Phipatanakul, chair of the Indoor Allergen Committee for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology is quoted in the newsmagazine U.S. News & World Report as saying.^[3]How hypoallergenic a particular dog is for a particular person may vary with the individual dog and the individual person.^[1]

I know from personal experience though that there are dogs and cats that don't drive my allergies wild. Our neighbors have a little Maltese that doesn't give me allergies. So I'm convinced we can find a pup that works for us. The I like the best is a goldendoodle (golden retriever and poodle mix). You can get a miniature one that only gets to about 20-30lbs which would probably be the best option for us.

I also found a Massachusetts breeder that is not too far away - Massachusetts Goldendoodle Breeders. It kind of kills me to buy a dog because I'd much rather adopt a puppy from the MSPCA which is down the street but my allergies don't really make that an option. I'm still considering heading down there and explaining myself to see if they'll call when they get a puppy/dog that could work for us. Plus puppies from a breeder are expensive (~$1300)!

Wherever we end up getting a puppy, I need to start saving money for one. My shopping addiction needs give way for my puppy obsession.

Given all our dog related issues, do you think its a good or bad idea to get a dog?

puppy love