I have taken care of dogs my whole life and consider them a part of the family. I recently had to change careers and put myself in deep dept in order to take care of one of my dogs. he had back to back TPLO surgeries and a complete knee replacement. He had to be caged for over 6 months to be kept away from the other dogs in my house and needed 24 hour supervision because he couldn't walk. Most of my family and friends said to put him down because of the cost and time, but I would never be able to look him in the eyes and say "sorry, but you are costing me too much money, I can't afford you." I guess that sums up how I feel about dogs. Any dog is irreplaceable and I care for them with that in mind.