Hi Genny, Yes I really do enjoy my mini donks, they are just pets. Some day, when they make an 8 day week probably, I want to teach them to drive. Both my geldings are Choc brown and would like to have them drive as a team. None of them have ever kicked me. About whether to get a jack (gelding I hope) or jenny ... I can't answer that for you. I had my jack first (Cosmo), and he followed me around like a puppy dog ... then the horses I was boarding were leaving so I got a jenny (Sambina, "Sam"). He got her pregnant, and when she wouldn't tolerate him around her anymore, I had him gelded. Little Merlin, now gelded, is their baby. Cosmo is the most affectionate of the 3, Merlin is coming around ... I don't think I created enough of a bond with him at his birth probably because I was in awe of the whole thing. Sam has always been stand-offish .... but I got her when she was 5 years old, and who knows if anyone bonded with her before that. I don't really think a sheep would be a good companion ... donkeys play rough and they play by grabbing onto each others necks. A sheep couldn't handle that. A single donkey WILL probably bond with you better, but will get bored quickly. That's when problems start, when they are bored. Good questions! The

I would say that there are about twice as many adoptees searching than birthparents. Many birthmothers feel that they have no right to search, that they gave up that right when they signed over their children. That does not mean that they don't want a reunion. Birthparents are more afraid of looking also because the adoptee might not even know they are adopted. A birthmother knows that she is a birthmother. It is far better and easier for the adoptee to search. Birthparents usually just came to our meetings just for support or in case their child was there. I also believe that unless it is an open adoption, it is best to wait until an adoptee is an adult and better equipped emotionally to do the search. Teen years are hard enough to survive. Yes, the truth is worth knowing. Honesty is important. Done correctly even though the news may be bad, it doesn't have to mean sad ramifications that can't be dealt with. LOL If I knew all you wanted was a huge inheritance, I would not help you with a reunion. We are talking emotional well-being here. When I did a search with an adoptee, we had many a talk on all of the what if's, I made sure that an adoptee had someone to go to for councilling if necessary. There was follow-up. It is your sister's right not to do a search. I respect that immensely. Just as I haven't passed on much in the way of information to my twin because she doesn't want to know. I have a scrapbook made for her about our birthparents and how I have done the search and the details. If she ever wants to see it, it is hers. I did it just in case something ever happened to me and she changed her mind. If she never wants to see it, so be it. It is her right not to know. BTW, Birthmothers are very special people. They did the best they could at the time. It isn't an easy decision to make, and for all the birthmothers out there, I give you a huge hug. It is far easier nowadays to keep children and far more accepting. Years ago, there was no support.

jomuir, besides your propensity towards discrimination, you're also showing ignorance. The point of fact is that most dogs have been bred for hunting, guarding and fighting. A lot of that involves killing. Pits put up with a LOT of harsh treatment. Foolish, ignorant people think that they're a "tough" breed so they need "tough handling" when that's nonsense. Yet, pits are often subjected to this harsh handling, if not outright abuse, and they put up with it for a long time until they decide to put their foot down and say enough is enough. By the time it gets that bad, the dog is plenty defensive and ready to do damage. We all have our breaking points and since pits hold off for so long and theirs comes as such a sudden shift from their usual tolerance, people mistake these dogs as "suddenly snapping" and as "crazy" and "unpredictable". The breeds I work with most are pit breeds. But I also with other breeds as well, all kinds. I work almost exclusively with rescue dogs and they come with the worse behavior and health problems imaginable. Rather than relying on second hand propaganda from the sensationalist news or what I've heard from an aunt's friend's brother's story, I rely on first hand experience with these dogs and FACT. Most people don't know how to correctly interpret canine body language at the best of times and pit breeds can be harder than others to read due to their slight signals and physical alterations due to breed specifications. But they do give signals. And they're not anymore crazy or violent than any other breed, when it's just the opposite. They're willing to put up with more longer than other breeds would. For for people who just know everything and in their hearts, they just know that the pit bull "breed" is evil, you also display your ignorance as it's not A BREED. It's breeds. And no, their jaws don't lock and they need to be socialized from a young age with other dogs just like any other breed does. Any breed of dog can become dog aggressive or people aggressive for any number of reasons. That's all I'm going to say on the matter because I'm really quite tired of these pit bull hate parties all over the internet.

gemini, I don't know if it was my question that got your goat, but mine was a genuine, out of curiosity, wanting to learn question. If you choose you can go back up and read it. So far nobody has responded to it. Briefly, my question is - other than perceived expense or desire for a litter, what is the reason a person would choose not to have their pet neutered? I'll answer it for myself in reverse. I choose to have my pets neutered because I don't want any litters, it is healthier for the pet, it is more happier for the pet, it makes living with the pet easier (not going through those heats of a female or frantic humping by the male). I believe it's ethically and healthwise the better choice. So that's why I choose to neuter my pets. I really, really am interested, without judgement, in hearing what factors people who choose not to neuter considered and what kept them on the "not neuter" page. "Because I choose not to" doesn't answer that question. Can anyone?