[capt_noonie]

I'm responding to the OP, haven't read the rest of the thread, going to do that after I post this:

Not everyone is cut out for dogs and/or kids. I am not cut out for kids, so I don't have any. For example, my mom, she is now retired, lives by herself, and wants a pom SO badly. I told her flat out she's not cut out for a dog.

Why wouldn't you be able to go out for drinks for a few hours? When Uni was a puppy we went out every weekend. We converted a walk in closet into her "room" while we were away. Puppies mostly sleep anyway. Eat, play, sleep, that's pretty much it.

and the frustration from your mom was probably due to the fact that it was she who kept bringing Marley back to the pad not you. I think if you had done that and not her, she wouldn't have exploded at you like that.