I guess this is one way to pitch Emily's book; make the whole column about dogs - of one sort or another.

1) Obviously, neither of you are going to yield on this. I'm guessing you had the dog before you had him. Find a guy who actually likes dogs. Even in your 40's, this isn't as hard to do as you might think. In fact, a dog is a much better way for a woman to meet someone in public than a child would be.

2) I think your husband has been more than patient. He still is, since he's leaving the choice to you. The reason the rescue societies want people to return pets to them, is so that they can make a better match for the pet on the next try. Prolonging it just makes it that much harder for your dog to adjust to a new home.

3) When people try to fix you up, tell them you are already in a relationship, and would prefer not to discuss the details at this point. Has this woman been severely disabled for the entire 20 years you've been together? Do you know this, or is it just what he's told you?

4) Is she being overly sensitive about being pregnant, or have you been overly sensitive about people who only "want to talk about ... play groups and strollers"?

I think Emily's answer to the second dog lady (the rescue dog) was right on. My husband and I had a dog with severe allergies and some behavioral problems, and we were stressed out for the 9 years the dog lived. We couldn't have friends over without them making comments about the fact that our dog had no fur, and we spent thousands of dollars on dog allergists and special dog foods, and our house and patio were a mess. To top it off, the dog (a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, so a fairly large breed) was hyperactive and drove us crazy fetching things in the house. He never sat still -- he would only have been happy if we'd taken him duck-hunting! But we'd never have gotten rid of the dog because we knew anyone else would euthanize him. I didn't know just *how* stressed out I'd been until he died, and my life improved 100%.

Shortly thereafter, we got another dog, a yellow lab. We got it from a rescue group because we wanted an older dog whose health and personality we could see. We've had a great experience and everyone is much happier.

Adopting from rescue organizations is a wonderful thing, and not all their dogs have personality problems. I can't imagine why the previous owners didn't want my dog -- they'd even trained her before they gave her away! She's perfect. And the fact is that if this woman gets rid of the impossible dog, she can give a home to another homeless dog who would make her happier. Maybe the dog she has now could be happier in a home that has other dogs to play with or something.

I've had several rescue dogs (and, in fact, will be celebrating one's 10th-ish birthday on Valentine's Day). One of the rescue dogs we got was a disaster (did not get along with the other dogs, was destructive, etc.). We took the dog back to the rescue folks (as on the agreement) and they confirmed that bringing a dog back to them (preferably sooner) helps them pair up the dog with a more suitable family.

Yeah, one key problem is that it's been two and a half years since she cajoled her husband into getting the dog. That's way too long to live with problems and not address them.

that's the only reason people put up with intolerable situations for long periods of time....

deduction:

that's the only reason people put up with intolerable situations for long periods of time....

The women with dogs, or the woman dating one?

IncogNeato:

The women with dogs, or the woman dating one?

LOL Incog... that's the best one I've seen today... Thank you!

BOTH!!!

LOL