3 dogs have been my "chemistry partners": 1. sirca, my rojo daughter and foundation bitch. my heart. the light of my life. she left this world exactly 4 months to the day before her 14th birthday, in my arms. she had a great last morning and her beautiful old heart just decided it was time to stop. 2. grouch - sirca's grandson. he had the most incredible sense of humor i have ever known in a dog. smart and willful but ALWAYS so very funny. 3. skater - my last babbitt son. he, above all, has been my partner, my best friend and, on more occasions than i want to remember, my salvation. i am the center of his world and he is the center of mine. skater turned 12 in june. i bless every day and live with that constant fear we have all known. the biggest chemical reaction i have ever seen was andy and babbitt. there was NO ONE else in the world as far as she was concerned.i'm sure there are still a number of you who remember her first national - the one where she tore down the ring ropes because she caught a glimpse of andy. peggy lee used to laugh at the fact that the only real doubling andy had to do was breathe. gail lived through enough frustration over the fact that miss babbitt wouldn't double at ALL for me. and i'm sure jack newton remembers the screaming at handling class - if andy was working any other dog, and babbitt had to wait with someone else holding her lead, she would literally scream her head off until andy came back for her. it was very embarassing but equally amusing. diane Diane Strasser Silstra German Shepherds "In dog years I'm dead." - Author unknown <BR><BR>**************************************<BR> Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour</HTML> ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================