Thank you, each and everyone for the thoughts. I found your understanding very sweet and comforting. I am sure we will enjoy our new location once we get things "wrapped up." I will miss all the roses I have grown, but drought, blight and viruses have already accounted for about a 25% loss of what we grew a few years ago and now we have shovel-pruned others due to disease intolerance, lackluster performance, etc. So we grow less than half of what we did just 5 years ago; we are down to fewer than 200 roses. My Noisettes, (including the beautiful Crepuscule) all took to their death bed over the last few months, on the coattails of losing many other roses to RRD in recent years. I was told the reason for the noisette/ornamental cherry tree losses was a soil-borne "blight..." I got the official report but I was inundated in pressing matters such as a new roof from a storm, floors from a flood, putting the house back together after having to move everything out, wash it, clean it, dry it and do it all over again, to the pressing health issues of a family member, so I just filed it away, knowing that this too would pass. The verbal report (and what I read in the local paper were similar), that many other people in my area had the same thing. It sounded to me like going to the doctor with a sore throat and low-grade fever, getting an antibiotic,a steroid and a pat on the back with the infamous medical statement, "it's a virus, it's going around,I have seen ...cases....blah, blah, blah..." You just take the medicine and move on. We will grow a few roses, but the "powers that be" sort of determine what one can and cannot grow. Fortunately, since I have worked with the master gardeners in the historical gardens, perhaps they will be more lenient. I want to grow Crepuscule again, so I want to try it at my new home. Duchesse, Caroline lives about 80 miles east. I know that you too have probably noted this as I have, that people think because we live in Alabama, we all live close together. In fact, Alabama has a pretty diverse terrain in terms of physical features (and diverse zone conditions as well as a diverse citizenry), from the world's whitest sand/bluest beaches on the Gulf Coast, to the state capital (and former Confederacy/Goat Hill in Montgomery), to the marble quarries of Sylacauga, (home to the world's finest and whitest marble), to Birmingham formerly known as Pittsburg of the South (now one of the fastest growing cities in the country with cutting-edge medical teaching university), to Mt Cheaha, the tail end of the southern segment of the Blue Ridge, also part of the Cumberland Plateau and even my little area (the oldest industrial/manufacturing city in Alabama). Thanks for allowing me to vent!!!!! http://www.prattville.com/Default.asp?ID=5

It is my understanding that the hearworm pill does act as a once a month dewormer for other kinds too. I think I read that on the back, but don't have it here. The idea was that the pill may have "primed" your dogs system to be sensitive or irritable and it is overactive. ( duh can't seem to put it into words.) and needs to be calmed down. If it is not a medical reason, then go back to square one with housetraining. I am betting on his tummy tho, dogs seem to get the idea to poop outside much faster than the concept of peeing outside. It is not pee too is it? Our dogs were crated usually for 8 hours a day with no ill effects as they were worked with and loved the rest of the time and slept in our bedroom. The vet and other resources said that it was fine,(her dog was crated that long) that dogs love their crates- and our do. It is far better for young or unreliable dogs to be safe and cozy in their crates than on their own and getting into danger. We have a yard and always took them outside to play and walked them etc when we got home. As soon as they were able to be trusted, we began letting them remain out for a few minutes alone, then gradually extended the time out. We then took the doors off the crates because they still enjoyed going in on their own. Don't forget to "babydog proof your house" include your kids rooms... Goldens will eat ANYTHING!! corncobs are deadly- be especially careful of your trash. and pill bottles :( and pumice stones ( dont ask) and knee highs... We have put the crates away to make more room in my laundry room as they were no longer going in the crates this summer. We were converts to crating with Bailey and then Cooper, and they are far better trained and happier and loving than the dogs we didn't crate years ago- no bad habits or behavior problems.It is all in how you handle it and consistency in training. They do go through adolescence and that is why training is so important especially through those years, if they are well trained early, then you can draw on that for their trying teen years( yeah they even whine like kids! but at least they don't want the car) You have a great attitude and you will be fine! btw if you have a petsmart near you they offer good training classes inexpensively. The trainer we had also volunteered to train the primates at the zoo. She had her own non animal related business but did the training on the side- her degree was in animal behavior! Look into clicker training - it is a lot of fun and very effective training tool. Sue HTH Sue

My prayers are with all of you. The only fault our companions have is that they do not live long enough. They come into our lives and fill our hearts then leave it with a huge, empty spot never to be completely filled. But they fill our hearts so much that the hole is cushioned with all the memories of all the wonderful joy we shared with them. After my Kiki kitty girl passed I went through all my extra photos from the past 17 years. You know, all those duplicates from prior to digital. I was amazed to see just how often she and our pup were actually in pictures, unintentionally. Like when we take a pic of a sofa to post here and BAM there is the cat lounging on the chair in the corner. Well I took all those photos and put them in an album. No written words, just pictures. They tell their own story. It was the best therapy ever. I did manage to make my buddy's book while he was still living. I need to start my pup's book. I think I will need a bigger book. Like the other reply said, I have taken a ton of him intentionally. I am in process of making a shadow box with his collar. It will make me cry every time I look at it, but the happy thoughts will flood in and make it so worth daydreaming. Do whatever your heart tells you to make Sashi comfortable. It is all we can do for those we love, and you obviously love Sashi. Take care. Remember the Rainbow Bridge.

Since I have had more than my share of dog skin issues to deal with, I'll just tell you what I think. I'll go down a list to sort things out. *Your dog has a sore that has been there for at least a month. *Your dog is uncomfortable. *It does not seem to be getting better. *It seems to be spreading. *Your vet has tried medications. *Medications are not working. There are numerous reasons why your dog could have a problem. In my humble opinion, your vet does not know why. It's been my (and my dogs) painful, costly experience, that when a vet allows something like this to continue this long, and/or switches medication more than once, vet probably does not know what the problem is. After much frustration and money spent on stupid, completely wrong diagnosis, I learned the hard way to put a time limit on medications. Be specific about a date when you will start to see improvement. If vet cannot tell you, and again, want's to switch medications, he/she probably is shooting around in the dark and does not know what the specific problem is. All of this while you are spending money and the dog is in discomfort. I would consider consulting a "qualified" veterinary dermatologist. Skin issues tend to be separate from other regular veterinary issues. Before I do this, I would consider altering the dogs diet, one to a "hypo-allergic" food available from your vet. Lots of people and vets simply do not realize that diet can and does cause lots of problems. Your dog may be prone to a food allergy. Going this simple route could wind up saving you so much time, frustration and money. If you have not already, research the subject on Google. If this is your problem, you should start to see positive results within a short period of time, perhaps a month. Gradually switch to the new food over the course of a week or two. Feed nothing but the new food for at least 6 weeks. Finally. You need to scold your vet for allowing this to go on this long. State that this is completely unacceptable, and you are depending on vet to fix this, you want to know what is going to happen, how much itÂs going to cost, and when itÂs going to get fixed. If your vet cannot get with the program and fix things, find another vet. SG