Dog delima. Long shifts = cruel?

You could hire a pet sitting/ dog walking business to give the dog a mid-day walk while you're at work. Normally, I work 8 hour shifts, but with call requirements I have at times worked up to 20 hours straight- plus commute. To combat that, I litter trained my dog so I don't have to worry about her having accidents (she's really tiny, smaller than a cat) and do not crate her while I'm not home- that would really be cruel. On weekends, she gets extra loving plus extra socializing either through puppy obedience classes or just walking around the neighborhood- for some reason, all the kids want to pet her and she loves it. She also has two feline friends for company. As for the fence thing, leaving a dog outside without supervision, even with a fence, may not be such a good idea- some dogs are really really good at escaping (had one growing up who figured out how to disconnect the kennel walls from the frame and had to bury the bottom of it several feet deep to keep her from doing it again) and there's also the possibility of someone helping themselves to the dog (has happened several times in the city where I work- dogs in fenced in yards are stolen).

If you want a pet you don't have to get a dog, unless you have allergies to other pets. You can rescue two cats (so they can keep each other company on those long days)...there are more of those needing homes than dogs. Rabbits make good pets as well, even guinea pigs. I was amazed how social rabbits and guinea pigs can be and what an array of sounds they can make...guinea pigs even make a little purr type noise when they are happy. I had a rabbit a few years ago who would love to sit in my lap or lie on my chest, he was such a lover and I even took him out for walks on his little harness.

^Rats! You forgot rats.

From my experience with rats they are almost like cats...they can be very social, can be taught tricks, can grow to a decent size (so you don't have to worry about them getting easily squished), rarely bite...when I worked at a research facility if a rat got out of it's cage, the person who cleans the rooms would find it back near its cage the next day, because they are so social and don't like being alone.

I would get a female though...males leave a almost indistinct trail of urine as they walk, to mark their territory, etc.