I don't know how I'd have him pick out his new friend, other than by fostering. When I got Max, I brought Jake to meet him and they behaved 100% differently once they got home than they did in the yard at the shelter.

Here, the annual vet bill including all the vaccines is around $250, including heartworm and lime disease and giardia - not just the required vaccines. I think our area is unusually expensive, though.

You know how the shelters usually have the 30-day "return policy"? How do they feel about people who bring dogs home to try out with their old dog and then bring them back? Do they refuse to let them try another one out, usually?

If I said I'd foster, I would kind of be obligated to take the dog until I found a home for it, right? So if it didn't get along with Max, that could be a bad thing.