38 years ago I fell in love with my future wife, then I fell in love with her black Lab Abby. We then had our Elkhound/German Shepherd Sam for 13 of his 14 years, followed by Sunny the white Lab. We found out that Sunny was diabetic at 9 and even though she was partially blind, she lived a rich 14 years. We rescued Alvin the chocolate Pit-Lab almost 8 years ago. He lived a very happy life with us and we had to seriously care from him 3 times. He had a very treatable cancer that was totally removed but took a couple of late nights caring for him. He was very healthy till he came down with a neurological disease that brought us to a "quality of life" situation. We said goodbye a week before Christmas and it was a good decision. I've always loved dogs and with my training as an EMT, I'm good at caring for dogs physically and emotionally. I've had to care for all our dogs and I'm good in critical situations, which rarely but do happen at times. My wife and I have helped friends who rescue dogs & have helped to foster a few. Zeus was a 15 year old purebred American Staffy who was the best houseguest while he was with us. We also provide B&B services & have taken in a few to help out. They make my heart & brain smile, a very good feeling.