I've been thinking about this puppy since I called the pet store about hoping they could de-stinkify the puppy so I could have a decent attempt to spend some time with it to see if I'm allergic. (that lady was rude in my opinion)

I'm thinking I probably wont get it. I would LOVE to get a dog, but if I get him and he doesnt set off my allergies for a few days, what happens then? By that point my parents would have bonded with him and I probably would have too...what if I had to give it up after that because of allergies.

Not that fair to the dog is it?

What I'll have to do if I want a dog is probably visit an allergist and get the official word on the allergy from someone who can actually show me what I'm allergic to.

and then find a private breeder who might be willing to let me spend quite a bit of time with a potential puppy before deciding on one.

I think I really just like that poodle puppy at the pet store because he looks so much like my poodle that I got when I was 11yrs old. It's the nostalgia of the poodle, and probably not the poodle himself.

I still might go back and look at him, but I might not. I need to talk to my dad about it some more. It's a good thing my dad and I are not telling my mom about this puppy. She would demand we get it and she would not give a crap if I'm allergic or not, she just wants a little doggy to play with. I do too, but not if it's going to make me sick.

I'm also not so sure about raising another dog. It really sucks when you realize that they dont live forever...actually poodles do live forever, my childhood poodle lived so long (18yrs, his brother lived almost 20. He belonged to my aunt) that he was blind, senile and incontinent and got lost in corners. We had to put him down when TinyMonsters came along, because Tiny was a bully to the old guy and that poodle was no longer enjoying being a dog.

Then there are the "joys" of dog ownership...poo...pee...dog vomit (Tiny was good at puking), and the ever fun and exciting genetic abnormalities. My poodle was epileptic (he had some impressive grand mal seizures), the yorkie I had before him was blind, TinyMonsters had problems with pre-bloat (bloat is another term for gastric torsion, which is where the dogs stomach twists and is potentially fatal. Tiny never got past pre-bloat stages tho) Tiny also had thyroid problems, allergies (ironic, isnt it?) and when Tiny died, he had kidney problems.

Argh...I want a dog...just not too sure I want to deal with the Real Life stuff that happens with dogs. Maybe I'll get a RoboDog instead?