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littledolphin -- i empathize with the position you're in... i have a soon-to-be (knock on wood!) 14-year old shih tzu who has some pretty serious health problems, and i hope he lives a LOT longer, but when he does leave me, i don't plan to get another dog.
it's hard for me to say that. my house will be so empty, and my heart will be so lonely... but, at the same time, this boy is more than just my best friend, he is my soul mate in the doggy world and no other dog will ever be his match. i might love another dog. in fact, i do right now love other dogs, my mother's dog, a little shih tzu boy down the street...
but barnaby is something special, and i would always be looking for his face in other's and not finding it.
so it will be for the best for me and for other dogs not to bring one into my house that i would be a little resentful of simply because he is not "the one."
in the end, i think only you will know how long you should go or IF you should go without another dog. your heart will tell you the right answer.
good luck with your current boy! i hope he has many happy days left!
Thanks you so much Barndog..you understand completely...it's so hard to see our soul dog grow very old and falter...I'm treating him with loving kindness and hope he stays around as long as he wants to...he's also around 14.
I'm of a mind to 'never say never.' In the past some needful creature has shown up in my life and it would take a harder heart than mine to turn it away...my kitty, Wolf lived to be 21 and I've not had a cat since she passed...so maybe a cat will come a calling...
I've always thought my dog, a Whippet mix and very cat-like, might be a reincarnation of her in doggy form...we have that same close connection and bond. He reads my mood--and it seems, even my thoughts...so easily. I just think of 'bath' and he's made himself scarce...
Wishing you and your beloved dog the very best across the miles...we humans share a hard passage at this time in our lives with our dogs...for it is us who will be left behind...
I just thought about this thread topic the other day. Currently, I have my first true dog of my/our own (the hubby and I) and I'm not sure how I would go dog less.
If you need to go dog less for a while for whatever reason, that's ok. There's always a way to get a canine fix nowadays. When you do get another dog in your life, you will be able to give it your whole heart once again because whatever situation you were dealing with earlier has been resolved. Kudos to you on thinking about these things; too many people rush in getting a dog for the wrong reasons.
I went dog-less for four years after my elderly maltese was PTS. I was working full-time with a son in first grade.
I can honestly say that I was so busy just surviving ~ that I didn't miss having another dog. PLUS, I went into a huge funk after Casper was PTS; but that's a whole nother story. Those four years I needed to put some extra time into my job and raising my son; volnteering at church and his school . .
Of course, my son ended up begging for a dog so . . along came Ringo. Then I decided Ringo needed a companion and along came Lucy. Now, I can't imagine being without a dog but I'm of a mind to never say never too!
How about fostering a rescued dog? In other words, give him love and attention until he's adopted out to a loving family. Rescue groups are always in need of more foster families.
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