<p>My D at the same age wanted a dog. It was all she could think about. We told her in no uncertain terms that all the expenses of a dog would be on her. We also told her that there would be no chance that the dog would ever be coming to live with us. My D had done volunteer work at a shelter, worked at a pet store. She had raised a puppy with family help. She ended up deciding to wait. Her roommate did get a dog. The dog hated being left alone. The girl did not stick to the crate training. The dog chewed up my D’s shoes, cell phone, cell phone charger to name a few things. The girl did not have money to replace my D’s things. My D eventually moved out. Last I heard the roommate got sick, had to be hospitalized for a week. A friend took the dog. The girl ended up having to go home. The poor dog ended up back at the pound. My D begged us to take the dog. She loved it and hated to see it go to the pound.
We have a 16 wk old puppy. It is our 6th dog. We had forgotton how much work a puppy can be. The getting up at night. The accidents in the crate. Finding a good place to keep it while I am out during the day. We have a large yard so I don’t have to put him in the crate each time I go out. Our puppy absolutely is not able to be left unattended in the house for even minutes. It is a ton of work. He is cute but…
I would look into fostering. I am on the email list for a non-profit shelter. They often are looking for foster parents. They also are almost entirely run by volunteers. Volunteers bath, walk and even sit inside the kennels and read.</p>