My sister is asking to keep my dog
I took on a temporary job opportunity in Europe for about 10 months and I asked for my parents to keep my dog. I was worried about traveling with him for a long distance just because of his age. My sister lives close by and she has kids. Her children likes dogs, which I was a little surprised by because we never owned a dog growing up. Anyway, he seems to really enjoy their company and he also likes being with my parents. And so he's been spending a lot of time with my sister and her children at their home. We were in agreement that I would come back and get him once I was done with the work assignment. I've had this dog for over 10 years since he was a baby.
I got him originally as a depression dog. I wasn't going outside. My sister won't say it but I know for sure that she suffers from depression as well. She doesn't really go out of the house or anything like that. And I've noticed that she's been texting me about her at parks and other things with my dog.
She forgot my birthday recently which wasn't that big of a deal for me since we're a bit older. The dates get hazy. But something stood out to me when she was wishing me a late birthday, she mentioned that she's just been focusing on the people who have been present in her life and she thanked me for allowing her to hang out with my dog.
Fast forward to her birthday, and I got her a gift. She thanks me for it. But she also thanked me for my dog. She also tried to reject the gift that I gave her and said that I've done enough by giving her my dog. When I called her to ask her about it, she quickly said "and we're going to keep the dog". I of course asked her what she meant by that. She then said that the kids really love the dog, and if I am coming back she wants me to give her a 30-day notice.
How would you handle this? I'm almost scared to tell her when I'm arriving back because then I feel like she's going to try and keep my dog. I think there is enough love to go around with him. And at the same time I'm thinking, maybe I just get them a dog? He's mine and I'm not ready to let him go.