Dogs can offer fantastic companionship and help keep the elderly active longer. At 80, your mother could still potentially outlive the dog depending on the age/breed and both of their health! I do hope that I live to be 80 and still have a dog. Dogs, like humans, are pretty resilient. They can bounce back from grief and change. Sounds like the dog’s welfare is planned for, so I personally think it’s great! That dog might help give her more years herself!
That’s a fair point, but there are a couple of other reasons- it’s a purebread and she is one of those furbaby people who never let their dog have fun and get worked up over the tiniest thing. I once accidentally stepped on her dog’s paw and it made her do a very quick yelp and my mother literally spent five minutes checking every single leg over and over to make sure nothing is broken.