Personally, I think its all about planning responsibly.

In my own case, I didn't dream about getting a dog until I owned my own home with a fenced yard. From the time I graduated college until now, I shared my life with cats, because I couldn't stand the thought of living without a pet. I had grown up with dogs, but I knew there was no way I could take care of a dog in an apartment and commute to work.

When I finally bought a place, it was a townhouse, with a small fenced courtyard. Cats again, because I was commuting 65 miles a day, and no way could I take care of a dog in the proper way.

And now finally, MANY years later, I have a house with a fenced yard that's two miles from where I work. I don't think we were there more than two weeks before we had our first dog. (The cats are still learning to cope ) I go home every day to let the dogs out at lunch. The yard is adequate, and we live next to a park. The neighborhood is extremely dog friendly, and this was one of the things I looked for when I was looking for a new house.

Unfortunately, people do things without thinking it through.