I am a HUGE animal lover! We (My husband and I) have two small, extremely friendly dogs ( who are extremely spoiled!) and get along GREAT with other dogs! We have a dog door so your dog will be able to let himself/herself out, whenever they please. I use to volunteer at the Lieds Animal Shelter but I took it hard when I had to leave the dogs behind at the end of my shift( I wanted to save them all!!!). I work full-time from home, so you don't have to worry about your "little one" being left unattended for hours on end.