Oh goodness. Well first off, all good shelters will ask about the other family members and if they know about the dog. All shelters in my area have a statement on giving pets as gifts. So maybe check into what the shelter has as policy and the adoption agreement. Your wife may have lied and said you were okay with it... And that might be against the policy or agreement, meaning they can and will take the dog back because of it.

Dogs cost a lot. If you want a lower cost animal that is still cuddly, get a cat.

Our expenses are (for a 30lb Australian Labradoodle) per month: - $60 for food - $70 health insurance (which is a great policy and has saved us tons of out of pocket expenses already) - it's costly monthly, but it will save us from having to put her down in the future if the medical bills get too high - $50 in various other items (toys, treats, chews, dental hygiene, poop bags, shampoo, etc) - $60 minimum for grooming costs. Usually a full groom every 1-2 months with a touch up in between.

Plus all the one time costs: - nail trimmers - leash - collar - long leash - treat holder - clicker - combs/brushes - medical costs before insurance kicks in - toys - clothing (we've bought a sweater, winter jacket, lifejacket, booties, raincoat) - these are sooooo expensive. Most were necessary for a specific purpose - ie: rain jacket because if she were to get wet, she wouldn't dry off properly when camping. Winter jacket for cold winters (-40 Celsius) and booties to keep her paws safe after a couple times where they got way too cold ($50 for a set of 4 was considered cheap compared to the other options). All of these we managed to put off until she was full grown, but imagine if we had to do them before that? - kennel - beds (also expensive unless you are ok with one that gets destroyed immediately) - training aids