From: dak_mar@alcor&mizar.concordia.ca   
      
   It is with a great deal of sorrow that we announce the death of Toupie, a   
   sable sheltie that we rescued from the SPCA Havelock raid in 1998.  She was   
   nearly 15 years old.   
      
   Prior to being rescued, she had spent the first 6.5 years of her life being   
   kept in a small cage, abused and forced to breed twice a year.  She weighed   
   about 7 pounds when we picked her up.  We gave her as much love as we could   
   and while she never stopped spinning around (Toupie is French for "spinning   
   top"), she slowly got healthier.  Her atrophied muscles came back with time   
   and, after 7 months, she was able to run again.  She remained extremely shy   
   and submissive, staying away from everyone except my husband and I.   
      
   The Montreal SPCA put her on the August page of their 2000 calendar (Sorry,   
   I don't have a scanner).  She died very quickly; a cancer we did not suspect   
   caused laboured breathing and her coughing up blood.  By the time my husband   
   put her down on the vet's examination table, she breathed her last.  She   
   will be missed.   
      
   Deborah   
      
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