Thinking A Lot About This...

I'll admit it. I am one of those people who sits in front of the computer for long amounts of time looking at the dogs at the shelters who need homes. My heart breaks for them. It kills me to know that many of them will never leave the shelter. It breaks my heart to know that many of them ended up there due to no fault of their own, but due to complete and utter selfishness of the person they love. It brings me to tears many times because I just hate that so much for them.
I cross-post things trying to help. I even attempted to foster a dog once. I cannot foster animals. It broke my heart to give her up and it wrecked my house to have her there. Milly and Shelby do not take kindly to other dogs.
I want so badly to adopt a dog from a shelter. I want to add a dog to our family. This morning I did some research about how to best add another dog to your "pack" and based on what I read I am now even more convinced, sadly, that it would not be a wise decision. The websites I read recommended that if you have a female dog, it is best to add a male dog. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against other people owning male dogs, but every male dog I've ever had much to do with is a sprayer. I absolutely cannot stand that quality. It would make me upset and I have worked too hard to have a nice home to have a dog come along and pee all over the walls. Don't act shocked. It happens. You know it does. The websites also said that you should think twice if you have aggressive dogs. It is not that Milly and Shelby are aggressive in every sense of the word. They do well with other people and they like other dogs... as long as they do not feel that they are trespassing on their property. I guess it is not really that they are aggressive as that they are territorial. They know that this is their home and their yard and they do not appreciate other animals in or near it. The website also talked about how you might want to get a different sized dog as that can help with easing the tension some. However, it also said that you don't want to get a dog that is so much different in size that it may harm your current dog by playing too roughly or even by walking over it. Milly and Shelby are small. They don't weigh 40 pounds combined. So, there went that idea. Some websites advised against getting a puppy if your dog is territorial because your dog may hurt the puppy. It also talked about making sure you have enough space to be able to separate them and had some comments that made me think about what I would do if this didn't work out. I know in my heart I could not possibly take a dog back to a shelter. the very thought of it makes me sick. I know I could not ask Milly and Shelby to live in a house where they used to rule and now are miserable, either. I would be torn and I would be in a horrible position.
I hate that I have come to this conclusion, because I really do want another dog. I would love to have a bigger dog. I would love for our little family to have another furry friend to love. However, after reading all morning about this, I have decided that maybe what I want is not of concern. I have to remember that my job, first and foremost, is to make decisions with Milly and Shelby's best interest at heart and in mind. It is not really in their best interest to disrupt their household. It is not in their best interest to have their time with Jake and myself divided between them and another dog. It makes me sad, but for now I have decided we will continue to be a 4 member family.