I waited about 2 and a half years after I graduated from uni, we'd always had family dogs and my parents still had the Springers back in NI but obviously I hadn't been able to have a dog of my own while I'd been a student and when I was just starting work and living in shared flats. I had to wait until I had bought my house and was at a stage in my job where I could work from home one day a week and afford a dog walker for the other days. I was 24 when it finally happened and I left NI when I was 18 so around 6 years I guess.
