Really sorry to hear of the loss of your cat, know how badly it hurts. You sound like a good pet owner! I started this this morning, had to leave before I could post it. revamp summed up my thoughts, but I'll go ahead and toss this out there anyway. ;) Since I already gave them my notice,doesn't that mean our lease is already terminated? Yes, it will terminate effective the day you gave notice for, in this case 11/30. Sorry, I was tired last night when I typed my response and left out a key word, "early". LL can terminate the lease early for breach. But with only 3 weeks left it's not really worth the hassle of the paperwork to give notice to vacate and possible eviction. That could well take 4-6 weeks just to land in court (if it even went that far, you could leave voluntarily and avoid it). That scenario would more realistically come into play if you had more months left and LL discovers the dog. They could legally terminate the lease early for breach, following steps in the language of your lease (they have to give you xx days notice to surrender the premises, etc.). It would be worth the effort then, because there's a lot more time left on your contract. But in your case, terminating early would just be a wasted effort because a)they already know you're leaving in less than a month and so b) they should be prepping for a tenant transition anyway. But that doesn't mean they don't have other courses of action. Such as demanding pup be removed, or hitting your Sec Dep for 'damages' or 'cleanup'. OK, this next part is going to get a little more complicated, but wanted to cover the deposit better. I'm not a lawyer, so don't know how this would go. Some in the general public might think well, you've paid that extra deposit for a cat, and have been paying extra per month, so what's the big deal, cat or dog. They both have 4 legs and a tail. ;) So LL can use that extra cat deposit money for a dog, no big deal. I tend to think that's not the case. Because the extra money was specifically for a "cat", not a "pet". So LL legally might be prohibited from using the "cat" money toward clean-up or repair from a dog. In that scenario, if they try to claim dog damage/cleanup then they would dip into the larger pool of funds available, which is your primary Security Deposit. Here's another whammy: since you did exercise the option to have a cat, they could well use that $ for general cleanup or something your cat might have scratched (wall, drapes). And on top of that still dip into the primary Deposit for repairs that only a dog could do (such as pup chewing up baseboard or vinyl flooring). So much depends on your LL if you got caught. If they are super strict and allow no bending of rules, they could insist at worst that you leave in xx days. (In my state it's 10 days for anything other than non-payment, 5 for nonpayment of rents. The time frame absolutely depends on the law and your lease). Middle of the road they could say you can stay but pup's got to find a home elsewhere till 11/30. Best case scenario for you is they let it slide with only 3 weeks to go. They have to give us notice to fix the issue right? That depends on your State and Lease too. Sometimes it's 24 hours written, sometimes it's 24 hours verbal, in my State it's 'reasonable verbal notice'. (Maybe keep pup's stuff ready to skedaddle at a moment's notice?) Despite all that, I know you're on pins n needles, and wouldn't encourage others do this, but just continue to lay low since you've got so little time left, it will likely all work out. Then you can enjoy your pup and relax in your new place. ;)

It is tricky - on one hand, you do want to be very careful. My mom's Westie suffered a broken leg while playing with the neighbor dog (a very nice, but rambunctious Lab). On the other hand, I agree with everyone who said that Bella is teaching the new pup valuable lessons about how to behave around other dogs. My terrier puppy's "best friend" is a Doberman mix shelter rescue, Violet, who was surrendered for being aggressive with other dogs. So I was very nervous about letting them play together, especially when my puppy was very young, but so far they have played together for months with no problems whatsoever. What helps, I think, is that Violet is much, much faster than my puppy, and it seems to me that when she tires of rough play, she either races around, knowing my puppy will never catch her, or comes to the door to be let in. I don't let them play inside, just in case my puppy might be able to corner Violet, and I think having her play with an older dog has been a really good experience for her. So let them play, just be careful!

Llama: You obviously have no real idea of canine behavior when they are alone, as you admittedly say you never let your dog from your side. I sense some "that's not the way we did it back when I was young, see...?" Crate=Den (So long as it's done properly and ALWAYS with a positive reinforcer). Where do wolves, coyotes, etc sleep and spend 80% of their day? THEIR DEN! It's a natural thing for them. For most breeds, the outdoors would be a great place to live if we all had no jobs and 20 acres of protected land. That's just not the case, and for that matter, most breeds are so domesticated that outside is NOT the optimal place for them 24 hrs a day. That said, the crate for 8-10 hours everyday isn't optimal either. Furthermore--and to the point of your post--I'd be willing to bet that all those people who can leave their pups out in the yard or a rural setting give the dog a den of some sort: a dog house, a pad under the porch, a nook in the barn, a nice shady spot under a lawn chair...well, I think you get my drift. However, a crate used as a CAGE to house an animal 100% of the time IS cruelty. Crating is MOST CERTAINLY NOT! Let's be sure and make these lines of demarcation perfectly clear: CAGED isn't the same as CRATED (even if the same housing structure is used) as we all know the unsettled nature of a caged animal vs the demeanor of a crated one. The crating method gives ANYONE who cannot watch their dog 100% of the time the ability to set the pup up to WIN at the tough things in their lives, i.e. potty training, not being destructive, feeling safe and secure and thus well-adjusted, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Go to any dog sporting event: Show, Agility, Frisbee, Obedience, Flyball, etc and look at how the best of the best dog owners and handlers house their dogs...wait for it...IN CRATES!!!!!!! Dogs sleep 15-18 hours a day depending on breed, age, etc; thus, one could argue that you forcing your dog by your side every minute of every day isn't allowing the dog the true rest it needs. I'd bet he wishes he had a crate to get away for a moment's peace sometimes...Let's not even mention the safety issues (for both pet and owner) of not crating the dog while traveling. All this isn't so much to attack you (but it was fun considering your lack of knowledge/misinformation on the subject) as to say that with tens of thousands of dogs euthanized in shelters every day, working families have no right to adopt a pet and save its life while enriching their own? Are YOU mad? Where is the good in that dog's life once he hits the autoclave? I submit to you that Fido would pick the crate 100% of the time rather than death, even if it was 8-10 hours a day...but if your master's not retired, then too bad puppy dog. Llama says to hell with you. After 20+ years as a cop, I'm one year from a well deserved retirement myself and I've been lucky enough to have 4 wonderfully unique, well adjusted and socially adept canine companions over these last few decades and each was crated with excellent results and loved their den until the end. All while I worked full time. My current little buddy, Marco, a 3 month old Chocolate Lab is responding well to crate/potty training, too. He gets 40 minutes of walking/offleash play before i go to work, a 10 minute walk by a friend and another 30 minute walk on my lunch break, then at least an hour on the trails or dog park in the evening, not to mention all his potty breaks. As he is a pup and demands my FULL attention, when I can't give it or need a break, in he goes with his Kong and he relaxes. The crate is simply another tool in the arsenal for developing an awesome and well behaved friend for life. All that being said, if you can watch your puppy 100% of the time all day everyday, then there's no need for a crate...otherwise, have fun and I look forward to hearing what all the uncrated pup has destroyed/eaten/soiled... Jay

Okay I am going to try and answer all the questions I have been asked. Daisy does stay in a crate during the day as my husband and I both work full time. She is not holding herself throughout the day. I don't allow her a lot of water in the morning and I take her out 2 to 3 times before I leave. She is not on a leash, none of out dogs were, but she has a designated "potty" area. When she wakes me up at night we go to teh door directly and to the potty spot. Once she is done, I tell her its time to go back to bed. She has actually improved on getting in the crate at night and not throwing a huge fit. Her Crate is in our room and its not a big one its actually the smallest wired crate I have seen but she has enough room for a small cushion to lay on and room to move around with her toys , and its in our room. The thing of trying to ignore her is a great idea but she will pee in her crate and that is what I am trying so hard to avoid. Also I have a 5 year old dog and when she throws a fit he gets restless then nobody sleeps : ) . She actually didn't wake me up until 4am today and I was so excited but then I found evidence that she potty in the crate I don't thik that was from yesterday unless my husband missed it which is possible. When she does pee in there I try to clean and wash everything in hopes she won't smell it and do it again. Is there anything to help with the odor?? any thoughts. So we are being patient and trying to do what we can, I may try the leash idea, that is a good one. Now Prairie Love you asked me about the Parvo. You all have NO idea what I have gone through. I had NO clue when I picked my precious baby out that she had Parvo. We found out the Sunday after we got her on Wed. She was so sick. I did call the humane society and to my suprise found out 2 days late that they knew on Saturday. I went straight to a board member with my concerns. Its been a huge ordeal but they are working on it and investigating and having a special session to keep this from happening again. I am very aware of how serious it is now, as all of her litter mates lost their lives due to it. Another thing I want to ask you all about. They made me have her fixed before I could take her home, yes at 8weeks of age. Would this affect anything with her. I need to ask my vet. We finally have enough of a "sample" to take in now.. whoo what a chore. Thank you all for your ideas, I love having animal lovers to talk to. Now if I can get my 5 year old to love her as much as her daddy and I do : ) !