Inquiring minds are asking: How soon is too soon to get a new dog after losing your four-legged best friend?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with some personal aspects of my life, I lost my dog ​​Rooney about three and a half months ago.

He was an 11-12 year old lab mix that my wife and I rescued in the latter half of his life, and although we only had him for six years, we created a lifetime of memories with him.

Nearly four months later, I still find myself thinking about the void he left in our lives, and there are times when even mundane chores around the house remind me of him.

A WOMAN’S CANCER BATTLE TAKES AN INCREDIBLE TURN WHEN HER DOG IS DIAGNOSED WITH THE SAME DIAGNOSIS

I say all this to underscore that I probably haven’t fully gotten over having to put him down in March, so when conversations about potentially looking for a new dog began in recent weeks, I met those conversations with mixed emotions.

The first time my wife mentioned that I was thinking about “the next dog,” my face scrunched up in disgust.

How could he even consider replacing Rooney so quickly?

Then I thought some more and thought about my two-year-old son, who had begun to form a bond with Rooney just before he lost him.

As the memory of Rooney slowly faded from his mind as he got older, my heart broke even more as I imagined my son falling in love with the new dog.

THE WOMAN, WHO CHARGED THE BEAR AND STOPPED IT ON A MORNING DOG WALK, RECORDS A HORRIBLE ENCOUNTER ON CAMERA.

Don’t want this (slightly messy) baby to jump on your duvet? (Photo courtesy of reader Jeff M.)

Not to mention the fact that we have another dog, Elle, who would probably have a complete stroke whenever we brought a young, energetic puppy into our increasingly crowded home.

Frankly, I didn’t take the suggestion very well, but I slept through it, and I’m not sure if it was just because my wife was wearing me out, but I’m starting to see another side to this whole thing.

Getting another dog doesn’t mean forgetting Rooney completely, and although the scars of losing him are still present, the pain has diminished significantly over the last few months.

Does it really make a difference if we wait another three months, six months, a year to get another dog?

Part of me says yes, but part of me says no.

My wife and I are opposites when it comes to change and emotionality.

He is very Type A and almost eager to embrace change. I tend to be more thoughtful and resist change unless it slaps me in the face.

Maybe that’s the point of this whole thing. I don’t think my wife loves Rooney any less than I do, I just think it’s in her nature to move on faster than I do.

I think having a young child also changes the calculus.

If we didn’t have kids, I would imagine the timeline for getting a new dog would be longer, but I know my wife is keen on the idea of ​​getting our son a dog of his own so they can “grow up together.”

All of this still begs the simple question: When is it “appropriate” to get a new dog after losing your four-legged best friend?

Also, is there a convenient time? Or do you just “need to feel it?”

Ring’s new Search Party feature uses artificial intelligence and neighborhood cameras to help find lost dogs, even for users without a Ring device. (Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

This is a complex situation that I’m not sure has the right answer to, and yet here we sit at the crossroads of it all.

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These are things they don’t teach you about parenting, but we still have to learn them on the fly.

See you later.