Just listened to a piece on NPR this morning in which it was mentioned that there are still shelters that sell dogs and cats to research facilities. The practice is called pound seizure. They only keep the strays for the requisite 5 days, so if you don't get there in time, you are out of luck. I think they said only 17 states outlaw the practice. Maybe we should all check with our local shelters and ask if they do this. One person on the show said she got such an evasive answer that she knew her shelter followed that practice. Depending on what you find out, you could also organize to have the laws in your state changed. I will link a website I found and here is what it said about Virginia laws. The first part worried me, but the second part appears to ban pound seizure. "� 3.2-6547. Acceptance of animals for research or experimentation; prohibition No person shall use or accept for the purpose of medical research or experimentation any animal bearing a tag, license, or tattooed identification, unless the individual who owns such animal consents thereto in writing. � 3.2-6557. Animal control officers and humane investigators; limitations; records; penalties A. No animal control officer, humane investigator, humane society or custodian of any pound or animal shelter shall: (i) obtain the release or transfer of an animal by the animal's owner to such animal control officer, humane investigator, humane society or custodian for personal gain; or (ii) give or sell or negotiate for the gift or sale to any individual, pet shop, dealer, or research facility of any animal that may come into his custody in the course of carrying out his official assignments. No animal control officer, humane investigator or custodian of any pound or animal shelter shall be granted a dealer's license. Violation of this subsection is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Nothing in this section shall preclude any animal control officer or humane investigator from lawfully impounding any animal pursuant to � 3.2-6569. " Here is a link that might be useful: pound seizure by state

YEH!!! you got a new shelter dog!!! I live on 20 acres and have 16 dogs (all fixed). I keep them basically in three groups. I have lots of fencing and cross-fencing. My husband has electrified the bottom of the fence in some of the areas. I do have several that would kill each other if they got together but I've got it managed well. So I laugh when people think a third dog is "crazy." I don't work and that's helpful, of course. Late last year I did give my pug to rescue. There's a strong pug rescue group in my state so I knew she'd probably find a better place than here. I didn't think I could keep her from becoming obese. So I recently replaced her with a new shelter dog. He's so cute. He's gentle and quiet so far - an important thing when you have so much canine energy in one place. So many, many great dogs in the shelters - I could find one any day in there that I would just LOVE!!. vicky

We LOVE our rats! We have two and they're just part of the family. :) They snuggle, play, come when called, are potty-trained and even love our dogs. Rats are very clean and don't like it when their cage is dirty. We have what we call a rat-mansion in our DD's room. It's a VERY big cage so that they can roam around it and play chase with each other. They're hilarious- honestly, they have their own sense of humor and love to make you laugh. If you ever have a chance to observe them, you'd be surprised at how smart they are. Rats get a bad rap simply because the FLEAS they carried were what spread the European Bubonic Plague. Blessings! Haley

I understand that zebras tend to be mean, so I wonder what they are like mixed with donkey.