Nick

My wife and I have been together for almost four years and married for 2.5 years. We got a dog (sheltie/collie mix) about a year ago and when we got him we both agreed and she promised me no more pets after that. Now its 1 year later and she is fighting me for another dog. I didn't originally want a pet at all, but because I know how much she loves them I gave in and compromised by saying no more pets after this one dog.

Now to give you a background on our pet history. We have had over 12 pets in the last 2 1/2 -3 years. Every time she would ask for a pet, I would say I don’t want one, no. Then she would fight and argue with me for days until I would finally give in and give her one. So far we have gone through 4 cats, 3 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, 1 hamster, 1 ferret, and 1 mouse.

Now she wants a second dog for our current dog. She found a stray dog and tried to keep that about two weeks ago and our current dog got very jealous and even growled at the stray dog. He did play with the stray and had a ball at first, but I do not think my dog wants another taking up his attention. We ended up giving it to a friends family member.

Now my question is, when is enough enough? I think I have to put my foot down on this one and say no more pets. She is willing to go as far as divorce if she doesn’t get a second dog. Now tell me, am I right or wrong in this case? Should I stick my foot and down and say no more pets? She has tried to compromise by saying how about getting a dog when she finds a good job (she's unemployed right now) and holding it for some time. I want to agree so we can be together, but I do not want another dog running around our small house and I have given in 12 times and every time she doesn't stick to her word.