I ended up doing something very similar. Adopted a dog lol lied about it to my mom saying that he was just a friends dog because she didn't want any animals in the house I'm at. I live separately. But my dog is my buddy. He tends to know when I'm up and happy and everything he does his own thing and tries to have limited contact with me it seems. I tend to get irritated sometimes so I think he knows he can get into trouble for minor things. But when I'm down he will stay in bed with me and just stays close to me. I could never give him up though. I'd probably be heart broken.