We've given away a number of them over the last 21 years. I'm thinking of little Dante, who jumped off the steps at 7 weeks, badly damaging a growth plate on one front leg. When his leg started twisting backwards, we were at a loss as to how we were going to afford the vet care and surgery he was facing. A trooper my husband knew asked if he could have Dante...you see, he and his wife had no children but they had big hearts...they spent almost $10,000 on that leg over almost 12 months...the orthopedic vet who worked on Dante fell in love with him and repeatedly offered to take the puppy for himself, but the couple refused. They had him for 13 years and they became one of our best friends. I'm thinking of Dax...we gave him to a cop and Dax became one of the first DEA certified Narcotics K9's in New Hampshire. And Axel, Noah, Granit, Fritz...some of the very best dogs we ever bred...we gave them to police departments and they have saved lives, found bad guys, found kids, deterred deadly force and been great PR for the breed. Or Bear who we donated as a Search & Rescue pup, she helped bring closure to a family's despair when she found the body of their missing loved one... Plus Falcon, who I turned down a nice 4 figure sum for because it was the wrong handler for this particular dog and gave him to a cop who was the right guy but who couldn't afford a dog like him. The best may be Obie, who loved his kids and grandkids, and carried the cat in his mouth 'cause the cat liked it, but the guy who bought him told me to come get him at 10 months because "he's not my old dog" so I had to go pick this dog up while his wife and grandkids stood there sobbing as I put him in my car...we gave Obie to a family of kids, goats, ducks, Newfoundland and lots and lots of barn kitties he could try and convince to let him carry them in his mouth. We've given away more, but, then, that's probably why we're broke! Regrets? we really only had one who soured us on giving...and it was a doozie, but we have to keep believing. Rachel & the Ark An American Working Dog Kennel Doing Our Part To Take A Bite Out Of Crime Since 1986! http://aaronswoodsarabians.homestead.com http://www.k9-workshop.com http://segensreich.homestead.com Proud Blue Star Mom of PFC Aaron Anderson, USMC "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein ============================================================================ 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 ============================================================================