Welcome to our newest dilemma

Let me tell you where this all started.  I have an old student whose miniature schnauzer just had puppies.  I saw pictures on Facebook and I immediately turned into a small girl who was "OoOoOoO"ing and "Ahhhhh"ing over them.  Ya see, I grew up with miniature schnauzers and I know that they are good dogs that are easy to train and that don't shed (or get too big at all).

So I messaged the mom of this girl that was in my class to find out more of the details regarding the pups.  They will be ready June 4th and they are $300 each.  I got carried away at the thought of actually getting a dog so I showed Stephen the picture of the puppies and he was instantly curious.  He wasn't a sucker for the price (who would be?) but the idea of being able to get a dog (our landlord might approve if it's a smaller dog) enticed both of us.  However, I wasn't 100% sold on this idea because, you see, deep down in my heart I'm still a sucker for a lab (mutt, mix, pure bred) of any kind.

That is when I went online to the Kentucky Humane Society and I found 2 little girl pups that melted my heart.  They were lab mixes and both already spayed and just needed a good home.  I can't resist a dog that needs help!  I showed Stephen - we were both GONERS.  He emailed our landlord...this was the test.  If she said, "no" then we were going to drop it right there.  If she said, "yes" then this was something we were going to prayerfully consider.  Having a dog is a big deal, we know this.  It's a huge responsibility both financially and physically.  But, one look at these cuties and you'll forget all sense of reality:

Now, we wouldn't get both, we'd just get one.  And we wouldn't go off just the picture either, we'd go and meet them and play with them and see.  Our landlord test?  She said yes.  She said YES.  SHE SAID YES.  And she knew it was going to be a lab mix.  Below you will see a list of my pros and cons, these are the things that we are weighing in our minds, please feel free to add to either side.  Also, as silly as this sounds, please pray for us that we make the right decision and we don't let our ten-year-old puppy love hearts take control :)

Cons:

-Money

-Time Commitment...a lot of time!

-Going out of town, what to do with the dog?

-Training a puppy

-Apartment living

Pros:

-I am home all day and Stephen gets home 2 hours after I leave.  If we wait to get a dog until we move back to KY we'll both be working full time.  This might be the most time I would ever have to devote to a dog.

-My friend, Amanda lives in Chicago and she is a dog trainer, groomer and boarder.  She would be utilized to help train our little girl, and to board her when we're going out of town.  You can visit her awesome blog here.

-My mom told me that when we come to Louisville, the dog can stay at their house (and I'm sure that Stephen's family would feel the same way).  The majority of our out-of-town trips are to Louisville so the dog could come with us.

-A reason to walk.  The dog needs to go on at least a 2-3 mile walk daily.  This would be a great reason to MAKE me exercise on a daily basis.

Any other thoughts to help us make this decision?