A Boy and His Dog

My son loves his dog--well, it's the family's dog, but he is the one who takes care of it the most, so we call it HIS dog. Long story short--when his dad brought home a chocolate lab puppy, we all pet it and thought it was cute, but my son bonded with the dog right away. During the weekends, summers, and holidays, he does all of the caretaking. When he is at school, I let the dog out and check on her food and water supply, but "I'm just not that into her." Honestly, my feelings are this: I raised two kids and did not want another baby--I was well-adjusted to my life with two kids. Just as my kids were aging and I was gaining more freedom, they brought home a puppy. All I thought was--Oh, no!--here we go again with the "baby stages". Yes, it is different--but housetraining a puppy is a lot like potty-training children. A lot of the time, I was the only one home--so when the dog had to go--or when she didn't make it--guess who got to take of the problem? I resented that--oh, how I resented that. I just never bonded with the dog--we made her a very nice room in the basement and she stays down there most of the time while the kids are in school. When she was house-training, I had to clean the basement many times. Thankfully, she finally trained, and now I just let her out when she barks, check her food and water, and give her a treat when she returns. When my son gets home, he lets her upstairs and takes her outside to play a lot. My daughter sometimes plays with the dog, but she rarely does any caretaking. She could take it or leave it. Here lies the problem: the upcoming move--we may be living in an apartment for a while, and we won't be able to have a dog there--AND, I plan to work full-time once we move. The dog worked out okay here--basement, house with a yard, and a stay-at-home-mom to let her out during the day. I don't think it will work out as well once we move--not every place is dog-friendly and there won't be anyone home all day every day. And I resent the idea of having to worry about it--I am looking into schools, job opportunities, and housing for our family--I am not the least bit concerned about an animal right now. However, I do know that my son loves his dog. That also brings to mind another question--what is he planning to do when he goes off to college or in the military in a few years? The dog is only 3 years old--I do not plan on taking care of the dog for another decade, especially when my son leaves home. She is a very good dog--I don't hate her--I just don't want the responsibility. It is my time to go out into the world and do MY thing--I stayed home with my young children--I do NOT want to stay home with my son's dog!! MAYBE we can find a place that accepts dogs--and MAYBE my son can keep her in his room and let her out before and after school--MAYBE this will work out for a while--but I don't know. I do know that I don't want to give up a good place to live or a good job just because my son wants to keep his dog. And then when he leaves in a few years, what then? We know a family that MAY want the dog--but my son is adamant about keeping her--my daughter is okay with giving the dog to a family with a big house and yard(something we won't have when we move)--my son is NOT okay with it. I'm not sure what to do. Honestly, we don't need to move the dog to Florida--it wouldn't be good for the dog OR us. We may even have a family member in a different state that would take her in temporarily, but we don't think we will EVER be buying a big house with a big yard again--and I won't be a stay-at-home-mom anymore, either. I don't want to upset my son about this, but I just don't see how we are going to work this out. I want the best for everyone--we can't inconvience everyone just to make my son happy. I guess I need to convince him that the dog would be miserable locked up in an apartment all day--plus, there aren't many apartments that allow big dogs--and the dog needs a big place to run around. If I can convince him that it is in the best interest of the dog to give it to a family who can care for it better--maybe it will work. I don't know--it's a tough decision. For now, I want him to enjoy every minute with his dog that he can before we move and make a decision.