Large dogs in apartments - borderline cruelty?

[dls]

I've been looking at apartments, Bellevue, Kirkland, Juanita, South SnoCo, and am constantly amazed at the number of folks who keep large dogs, golden retriever size or larger, in apartments. Perhaps my viewpoint is skewed, I grew up in a rural area where dogs were kept outside, or at least in fairly good sized houses, but it seems to me the keeping a large dog locked in an apartment for most of a day could almost be a type of cruelty.