Wolf
Don’t give up on your desire to have a dog in your apartment. Though there may be comprises (size for instance) I believe you should still battle on! If the only way is up in this country (high rise apartments to cope) and we want to compare ourselves with countries overseas (where pet ownership in apartments, whether owner or renter is more or less accepted) then we have to get onboard with the idea of pets in apartment blocks.
I read recently that in the past year there have been a substantial increase in the amount of pet surrenders. Coupled with the current property market where investors/landlords make up a greater percentage of property owners than in previous years and the fact that a great many new homes built in major cities are infact apartments, then the fact that pets have to be surrendered in increasing numbers is not really a surprise. On my local area facebook page there are many requests for accomodation to rent that are “pet friendly” as well as people trying to find new homes for their pets to to a “change in accomodation requirements (moving into rentals/apartments).
So don’t give up! Not only for yourself, but for the many others out there who resort to giving up their pet for adoption or giving up on ever having a pet due to old fashioned views. Help them move with the times!