No kidding about France and Italy...there were a g-zillion cats in Venice and Paris along the river, but I agree, never saw anything in Germany or Austria. There were several loose dogs in the small towns in southern France, none in Belgium. Found the cats in Paris much friendlier than Italy...wonder why...city of light and love I guess. But I do think they take spaying for responsible owners very serious... Molly In a message dated 12/27/2010 5:49:39 P.M. Central Standard Time, Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx writes: Really???? I saw a whole bunch in France and Italy, running the farm markets <VBG>, stealing food and being chased by vendors. Then again, I love the rural areas and local farm markets, a little off the beaten path to be sure:) Come to think of it saw little loose dogs on the beach in Wales too....don't remember seeing any loose in Germany or Austria. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2010. 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. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. 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@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================