Like most children growing up, I always wanted a dog.  Like a lot of children growing up asking their parents for a dog, the answer was a hard “no” for the predictable reasons: dogs are a huge responsibility, they require a lot of time and effort and can be expensive.  So it wasn’t until I was in my late twenties and living with my boyfriend-at-the-time in New York City, who had a similar experience when he was younger, that we decided to get one.  Our very first dog!