Replying to a message of Matt Munson to All:

 MM> It seems animal health care is a topic on my mind right now. Just
 MM> like how we have to visit the dentist and the physician regularly,
 MM> we should take our animals to the veterinarians office regularly.

Aggreed.  Preventive care is much less expensive than remedial care.  I just
cycled my dogs through the vet - the tab was $1,800.  For shots, one neuter,
two RFID chips, dewormer and three ear infections - scattered among a total
of twelve dogs.

Yeah, twelve.  Father and seven of his pups (which are now six years old) - 
nobody was looking for lab mix puppies when I was giving them away, so I
kept them.  Mother died following surgery to neuter her.  One is an ex=junkyard
dog (insurance carrier told them to get rid of their dogs), one belonged to a
fellow
who died while I was taking care of the dog and the other two were dumped out
here in the sticks (most dogs that are dumped in rural areas don't survive
more than
a few days).  I go through just shy of 400 pounds of dog food a month..

--- FleetStreet 1.19+
 * Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)