Owning and caring for a dog or any pet requires responsibility. If anyone has to ponder whether they want to be tied down or restricted by that responsibility, do not even think about obtaining a pet.
We never felt "free" to come and go as we please after loosing any of our dogs. Rather, we were deeply saddened as if we lost a member of our family. The last dog we had that crossed the "Rainbow Bridge" was Cody, our Golden, one week short of what would have been his 15th birthday. Heart breaking! Then Rusty, another Golden became part of our family.