I, too, vote for simply taking your mom to shelters/etc to see what kinds of dogs she's drawn to. You never know really.

My mom -thought- she wanted an Airedale... for YEARS. We previously had a Dalmatian (RB Pepper) and she shed like none other.. so my mom wanted the opposite of her. So she thought she'd get a curly coated dog. Last year she decided she was ready for another dog, went and met with a family who was trying to rehome their Airedale and she totally changed her mind.

No way would she ever get one. Too much grooming, too big and this one in particular was too high strung.

She now wants a dog like my Bunny, but without the aggression issues, of course. Medium sized, short but thick haired and cuddly. But she's also decided that they're not home enough for a dog to live with them happily, and since she doesnt agree with crating, that's not an option.

So you never really know what you want until you meet it. =)