[Perhaps only slightly off-topic -- many of us know Allis-Chompers quite well by now! I'm also saddened by this news. BIG] Dear Ferret Folks- I was not certain if this would be too off-topic for the FML, but then again I have mentioned my dog, the Noble Allis-Chompers many times over the years. She of the soft black bat ears, she of the velvety green armchair. Last night the vet and an assistant came to our house and sent her on to what I hope are further adventures. I hope to meet her again one day, young and strong again, not increasingly crippled by arthritis and weary. She gave me and my hubby thirteen and a half years of unquestioning loyalty and excellent company. She taught us many things. If she had lived to next summer, she would have been fifteen. It's only been a short while, but I feel her absence keenly. Nobody to lick the dinner plates clean. I put my hand down absentmindedly and no soft, silky black head appears, as if by magic. The dog bed by the wood-stove is empty. Godspeed, my girl. Surely you are waking up to find yourself in the sweetly-smelling long grass that whips the underside of your belly and your flanks as you run, run, run once more. Legs long and sound, back strong. Hold your black nose to the earth and smell the richness and promise of the day. Roll in the grass and get up again, quick as a wink. And run, run, run... Alexandra in MA [Posted in FML 6900]