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My dog is part chow, which is often a restricted breed because they're very bitey and aggressive. I've had luck renting from private owners (condos and houses), because they don't have the liability issues that multi-family apartments have to their other tenants. And most don't really care, they just want the money every month from someone dependable that isn't going to give them issues. There are also usually local organizations that can help get your dog approved, even if the complex has restrictions. You may have to get the dog certified as a service animal.

Good stuff. Thanks Thrill! If you knew my dog though, no way in Hades would anyone with even half a brain think she's a service animal. She's bad on a leash, pig-headed, and only listens if she knows a treat is involved. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

GeddyWrox wrote: ↑

March 23 23, 12:41 pm

Good stuff. Thanks Thrill! If you knew my dog though, no way in Hades would anyone with even half a brain think she's a service animal. She's bad on a leash, pig-headed, and only listens if she knows a treat is involved. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Emotional support!

Positive life change: I bought my first house a year and a half ago with my partner, who is now part of the family. Never thought I'd get to this point in my life.

Negative life change: My partner and I had to put both of our dogs down within a few days of each other last summer. His husky was 13 and had a number of issues, so it wasn't a complete shock, but my guy was only 7 and had acute kidney damage. We got a new puppy in November, which has been wonderful, but thinking about my dog is still a massive gut punch. I miss him tremendously.

ThatGuy wrote: ↑

March 29 23, 9:36 am

Positive life change: I bought my first house a year and a half ago with my partner, who is now part of the family. Never thought I'd get to this point in my life.

Negative life change: My partner and I had to put both of our dogs down within a few days of each other last summer. His husky was 13 and had a number of issues, so it wasn't a complete shock, but my guy was only 7 and had acute kidney damage. We got a new puppy in November, which has been wonderful, but thinking about my dog is still a massive gut punch. I miss him tremendously.

Congrats on the house!

And yeah, losing dog(s) is heartbreaking.

ThatGuy wrote: ↑

March 29 23, 9:36 am

Positive life change: I bought my first house a year and a half ago with my partner, who is now part of the family. Never thought I'd get to this point in my life.

Negative life change: My partner and I had to put both of our dogs down within a few days of each other last summer. His husky was 13 and had a number of issues, so it wasn't a complete shock, but my guy was only 7 and had acute kidney damage. We got a new puppy in November, which has been wonderful, but thinking about my dog is still a massive gut punch. I miss him tremendously.

Congrats and condolences!

ThatGuy wrote: ↑

March 29 23, 9:36 am

We got a new puppy in November, which has been wonderful, but thinking about my dog is still a massive gut punch. I miss him tremendously.

My dog just turned 15 so this is very triggering to me. That's real love, and like all real love, comes with the heartache of loss. Rest in peace, pup. Thank you for everything you gave to our guy, thatguy. He needed it, as we all do.

ThatGuy wrote: ↑

March 29 23, 9:36 am

Positive life change: I bought my first house a year and a half ago with my partner, who is now part of the family. Never thought I'd get to this point in my life.

Negative life change: My partner and I had to put both of our dogs down within a few days of each other last summer. His husky was 13 and had a number of issues, so it wasn't a complete shock, but my guy was only 7 and had acute kidney damage. We got a new puppy in November, which has been wonderful, but thinking about my dog is still a massive gut punch. I miss him tremendously.

Congrats on the positive life change part - that's awesome! And my condolences on losing two dogs in such a short time. We had to say goodbye to our 14 year old beagle last fall, and my heart still aches for her now. Dogs are such good friends to us.

Thanks guys—it sounds like you can all relate to what I went through. I expected to have many more years with Gibson, so to go from thinking he had a minor gastro issue to putting him down 12 days later was a terrible whirlwind of a journey. It was the right decision, but it killed me. It's the worst part of pet ownership.