For years, Jersey City renters Prashanth Devarajan and Pooja Zaveri talked about getting a dog. But they both grew up in Coimbatore, a city in southern India, where their family dogs had big yards to run and play in, and it was hard to imagine keeping a dog cooped up in their one-bedroom apartment.

“I always thought that my dog should have grass,” Mr. Devarajan said.

“We kept saying, ‘When we get a house, we’ll get a dog,’” Ms. Zaveri said.

But neither wanted to move to the suburbs, where they could afford a house with a backyard. And they really did want a dog — so much so that, despite their demanding jobs in Manhattan, they had been taking care of other people’s dogs through Rover, a service that connects pet owners with walkers and sitters.

A year and a half ago, noting the abundance of seemingly happy city dogs in their midst, they brought home a chocolate-brown Havanese puppy, whom they named Chico.