It's interesting because I (at 38) had the same experience. My husband and I were actively going through IVF when we adopted a 5 month old dog. I have a low frustration tolerance and want everything yesterday so the daunting task of raising a puppy who went through the stages of destruction, among other behavioral challenges I didn't expect, opened my eyes to - perhaps - my inability to deal well with stress around raising someone. If I can't raise a puppy without my life falling apart, how will I raise a child??? I know they are very different experiences but I got totally psyched out, and wondered in some ways if finding this out before I had a child was a blessing in disguise. I stopped IVF after that and remain ambivalent about the child thing. I know I would be an amazing, caring parent - as I am a dog mom - I just don't know that I'm mentally up for the challenge - a lesson I learned from my dog. Great article!