Puppy Fever

So Jim apparently has puppy fever. We've been debating all weekend about adding another animal to the household. A good friend of ours recently got a blue healer puppy and both Jim and I fell in love with him. So, I did a little internet search and I found a malamute breeder in Colorado. I sent the breeder an email this weekend asking if they have any puppies available and they have yet to respond to me.

Jim and Jimmy are up for a puppy. However, neither one of them has ever dealt with a puppy, and neither one fully understands how hard it will be. Jim says the ball is in my court and the decision is now entirely up to me....ugh. Of course all weekend I've been trying to figure out if a puppy would be right for us and I've made the mistake of viewing malamute puppies on the web most of the weekend. So, how would it impact the house? Let's take a look...

1) Housebreaking a puppy sucks and its very time consuming! I can clearly remember housebreaking other puppies and its no fun at all.

2) Can our furniture hold up to a puppy? Puppies chew...and I still have images of some of our old dogs chewing on the legs of furniture (because they were teething and I'm guessing their gums liked splitters).

3) How would our other animals react? I'm sure Nanook would be happy as hell. I feel bad that he doesn't have a daily playmate and I would swear he looks depressed on some days. Sasha...I think she'll adjust after a few days. Although she will not be happy during those first few days and I'm sure she will not allow any of us to touch her during this period. Corki...I'm afraid another dog will throw him over the edge. He barely tolerates Nanook and he already has mental issues when it comes to him not getting enough attention. The good news here...he'll be bald in about a week and that's less cat hair to vacuum up.

4) More fur....I already vacuum about three times a week so I don't think the extra fur will be a problem.

5) More poop....I know it's gross, but it's also the truth. Jim currently cleans up after Nanook so the extra "yard cookies" will be his responsibility.

6) Two dogs instead of one dag to walk. Unfortunately, I don't walk Nanook nearly as often as I would like...with a puppy I would really have to go walking more often.

7) More sleepless nights. This will be entirely me, I always seem to be the only one that gets up in the middle of the night with Nanook.

8) Two large dogs to feed. Nanook isn't very expensive, but he really doesn't eat a lot. Hell, some days he doesn't even eat at all. Don't get me wrong, there is always food in his bowl, he just chooses not to eat it everyday.

Alright, so that's how it would impact all of us. I must say though...puppies are so damn adorable! Not to mention Nanook really does need a little friend. So, what would you do? Is this the right time to get a puppy? Please help me decide....I'm stuck.