That may be, but it also may be a grief reaction. When I lost my big yellow long-haired tom, his partner and companion, my little black female tortie steered clear of humans too. He was killed in an accident. She had time to sniff his body, and her reaction when she understood he was 'gone' was so human-like it brought us to tears. It was a look of horror. She kept to herself for several weeks, sitting where they used to sit. Then, she appeared very skittish when she decided she wanted human company for a few more days, and then it seemed like she was over whatever she was working through. I just was super gentle with her, and let her have her space and after that, she became more clingy and wanted more companionship from us. I'm sorry for the loss of your Lucy.

I think that this post may help so many people, and the fact that the boy was almost 12 is also meaningful. Had he been 5 or so, he would have been down with the dog. Since he is 11, he must have reached down to the dog for the dog to have gotten his face. (Just guessing here) Isn't it true that fingers look like claws to dogs? In our dog training school we are taught to go up to one another's dogs using the back of our hands or even our fists. We go under the chin, not to the top of the head. After so many years, I had never been taught that most dogs don't want their heads petted (by strangers). Frankly I like the content of what so many people here say, but I wish they would be more respectful. When someone tells me that the Forum has spoken, and why don't I listen, I think I am communicating with a child. Truth does not come from the loudest screamer. When someone is so arrogant as to tell me that if I don't listen to him, I should take my dog to the pound, he negates all of the words that he wrote that could have been very informative. When we ask for advice, we get it. I am very interested in this forum, but we don't know each other, and to presume that we could be in another's shoes is not helpful. To me my dogs are almost human. I know that is a ridiculous thing to say, but it is true. I was shocked when my almost perfect puppy grabbed a bird, and wouldn't let it go. Yuck!! But he is a dog, and it is helpful for us to never forget that dogs are dogs. That is why experts who train Goldens (the only dog I am really familiar with) recommend that they not be left alone with young children. They are dogs and cannot be trusted. Also even though they can be trained perhaps better and faster than any other breed, we cannot trust them off lead - outside. It is helpful for us to hear about what has happened to others. We can spread this information, and help so many people. Don't we all think that dog information and education is lagging behind the year 2008? We don't have good publicity. We are concerned with backyard breeders and stray dogs, but we really have no type of education for the normal family that would like to have a puppy around. We have so much to learn from each other, but nice is a way to go on the forum if we want to learn from each other. I know that this is just my opinion, but I am accustomed to a forum where we do meet with each other from time to time, and we know each other's names. This forum is pretty anonymous, but we can pretend that we are friends. Sammy

Fillers from cabinet companies come in 3" and 6" widths and are ripped in the field to the desired size. Partial overlay cabinets usually do not need fillers for clearances because the exposed face frame gives them more clearance against doorways, walls, and adjacent cabinets. Full overlay and frameless cabinets will always need fillers against walls to account for out of squareness and to give clearance to the knobs so they don't bang against the walls. They will also need fillers against tall cabinets for the same reason, and for appliances that have clearance issues. In a small kitchen, some people opt to go without some of these fillers becaue each fraction of an inch is valuable, and then they end up having to use "cabinet stops" on their doors to keep them from banging walls or ajdacent tall cabinets. Using fillers works much better, really. It is up to the KD to understand the cabinet line's clearance needs and to specify the proper fillers in the design. Companies that order cabinets generally do not provide any design services or check over your order to see if you've specified every cabinet with the correct attributes for how it is being used in the design (matching interior, finished sides, etc.) That is the role of a KD, and you are acting as the KD in this instance. In your design above, you will need a minimum of a 1 1/2" filler for both the top and bottom cabinets against both walls of the upper runs. (I would also rip a filler overlay to the same dimensions so that it ddoesn't appear to have a "recess" next to your cabinet door.) If your moldings on your doorway are especially prominent, you may need to increase that size. Next to your fridge and a wall, depending on the fridge specs, I'd use either 2 1 1/2" fillers or two 3" ones together with the proper supportive side panels for the fridge cabinet above. You will need a minimum of a 1 1/2" filler against the side wall for your pantry, and if it has pull outs, you'll need a 3" one. This directly affects the size of the pantry that you can use if you are planning on that run being only 24" deep. What type of panel you choose to finish off the side of the pantry cabinet will also affect the overall depth of the run as well, so be sure you get those details right before you order. When beginning a cabinet design, place the fillers first, and since cabinets come in 3" increments, using a 1 1/2" filler against a right and left wall will only take up 3" of cabinet space. Lay out your cabinets, and if you have space left over, then you can increase/decrease the size of your fillers. NEVER go below 1" for wall clearances or 3" if wall clearances are needed for roll out trays.

I don't know that 'blame' applies to the freedom that younger people have now compared to what people had in the 1960's. I tried to watch "Giant" the other night. couldn't get my teeth unclinched, & when I thought the top would blow off my head, I stopped watching. The way the women, *grown women*, were treated was appalling ("Leslie, you're tired, go to bed", when Leslie wanted to talk with the men after dinner, & her husband said it in front of all the couple's guests). I'll take pink hair & tattoos any day over that kind of oppressive, restrictive lifestyle any day. My mother used to laugh about how her future mother-in-law frowned when she (my mother) sat on my future father's lap. My mother said, "Mama Texas went into the kitchen & brought a chair for me to sit in." My parents were of the WWII generation, not free-love hippie freaks by any means (had that term been available at the time). They were both Texas farm kids who had worn feedsack clothes & carried dinner buckets (syrup or sorghum molasses buckets) to school for their midday meal of syrup & biscuits. & they still managed to bring Granny out of the kitchen with a chair to correct their scandalous behavior! Things change, & each generation has its own expressions & rites of passage & so forth, its own row to hoe as my grandmother would have said. I don't blame myself or my generation or anybody else for a young person having the freedom to have tattoos or a ponytail; if I were going to claim responsibility, 'credit' would be a more accurate word than 'blame'. & I've seen tattoos & ponytails on young people who have good jobs, managers & techies. better than the IBM or FBI 'clone' looks that we saw in the past. edited to add: I was typing while OP was posting, & she said, 'Don't they realize they all look alike?' Back in my mini-skirt, long straight blonde hair days, I would have turned up my nose & argued, but I think the answer is yes, they do realize they all look alike; all the peers look alike, so they can identify with each other. They look different from everybody else. which is fine, because they're going to spend their lives with each other & their offspring, not with us, sad to say. Dang, what a waste! Just as I'm getting old enough to be any good at all, I'm obsolete! also, I think that the corporate & military powers-that-be will relax their attitudes about tattoos; they'll have to. It seems like every other healthy young person I see has at least a little butterfly or a purple rose or a cross. This post was edited by sylviatexas on Wed, Jul 30, 14 at 13:43