I and my family had dogs from when the children were very young. The last two were a 45 pound Chow Chow named Onyx which lived to be 18 and a 13 pound Yorkipoo named Casey which lived to be 17. They were both with us together for a time. Casey has been gone for 2 years. We miss her very much and would like to have another puppy and we will in the future. Presently we do not have the time to give a puppy the attention it should have. I think that taking care of other people's pets will help to fill the space that Casey left. Most of our neighbors have dogs and we love than all. I hope I can be of service to you.