A Different Type of 'Baby'

I know I'm not currently trying-to-conceive (sadly). In the meantime, however, I would still very much like to put my maternal instincts to good use. Since human babies are out of the question for now, I've decided it is time for furry children. I had a dog my entire life (well, since I was 4, but who remembers before 4 anyway?) until college.  Naturally, ResLife is not too keen on the idea of canines roaming around their dorms, and our two previous landlords shared that sentiment, so for the last decade(ish) I have been pet-less. Fortunately, our current living situation allows for (small) dogs so we've decided its time to search for that perfect pup.

We don't have a specific breed in mind, but it needs to be pretty small since our apartment is...well, small. We have no front yard and your classic Brooklyn backyard (concrete rectangle).  We do, however, live near a park so s/he would have space to roam around once in a while. Neither Pru nor I have ever really had a little dog before. We both grew up with medium-large (retriever/spaniel types) or medium-small (pomeranian, sheltie) dogs. I think we might be able to get away with a medium-small dog, but we may need to go with something smaller like a Yorkie or Bichon Frise.

With that being said, we also want to adopt our dog and we don't want a puppy.  Puppies are great, but 1) we really don't want to potty-train the dog from scratch; and 2) young adult/adult dogs are just as awesomely cute and lovable, but sometimes harder to place.  We'd prefer certain breeds of dogs (based on temperament, noise, size, grooming, etc) but we are by no means set on a thoroughbred. For now, we're still in the preliminary stages of decision-making, but I will leave you with a few adorable doggie pics because, really, who doesn't love a cute dog?