Dear Debi, So enjoyed your post about the animal, ferret, dog, cat, that left home, was abused, and left to die. It hit home, because, as I sit here, typing this to you, my big shepard is only 3 feet from me. She never leaves my side, and waits for me to come home when I go to work. She never stays out longer that she has to, and is always with me. Somewhere between 8 and 10 weeks of age, she wet on her first owners floor. To teach her a lesson, not to do that again, they snipped off one hind toe. She is a lady, and needed her foot, unlike the gentlemen, to assume the proper position to attend to her personal needs. They also cut a half moon in one of her beautiful stand-up ears, and tatooed a black lightening bolt on the inside of one back leg. She is the color of coffee light, with the softest brown eyes. For this act of animal training, they are free. For taking her into my home, as she was considered unadoptable because of the cuts and deformed foot, I to was rewarded. The insurance company cancelled my policy because she is a shepherd, and I can't get insurance because I won't give her up. But, I have a much larger reward, it is just that some people cannot see it. Marilyn [Posted in FML issue 4970]