Without a doubt I would dognap the poor lab when they're gone, then take it to a shelter at least 50 miles away. Do it for the dog. Throw your shoes away after the act, so they can't trace your footprints. Or better yet, wear really big shoes so they look for some 7' tall dognapper. This is no joke. Our neighbor has two very large dogs, which bark the second she lets them out every morning at 6:00am (even on Saturdays and Sundays). Waking up at 5am all week, it would be nice to sleep in a little on the weekend, but this person has denied us that liberty. She was gone Saturday through Sunday, and left them out. They barked all night long. We barely slept. It's amazing; I can barely hear airplanes flying over my house on their base leg to the airport a mile away, but the deep, hollow WOOOOF! of a great dane booms right through my R-19 insualted walls. I can't imagine dealing with that every night. I'd have to take some vigilante action if it ever came to that. We've called animal control several times, they can't do much beyond providing education of the local regulations. So what do you do about cats? The same dog propblem neighbor replaced her husband with a dozen cats when he left her. They've torn up my other neighbor's deck carpet, pissed all over our patio furniture, and all around the permiter of my house. They crap in the landscaping, my dog is attracted to it like a cheeseburger, eats it, then comes in the house and licks the kids. I confine my pet to my property; I don't think I should have to put up with cat crap in my flowerbeds, or cat piss splattered on my siding. My good neighbor has been trapping them, got two so far, but the worst offenders are too smart for fall for some sardines in a cage. Believe me, the thought of shooting them has crossed my mind, but I'm not in the mood to get convicted of felony animal cruelty when one of the neighborhood kids sees me take one out. This is public enemy #1, and it runs when I open the door. She's supposed to be on the other side of the fence. After a nice dump in the mulch, time to go piss on my chairs. This (below) is what you see when you walk up to my front door. It's not from my dog. It's from my neighbor's cat. What would you do?

Well I'm really sad because I can't find the poached shrimp recipe; I can "see" it and it's in a mag I must have tossed. But this sounds extremely close to what I remember. From Cooks Illustrated. I'll have to try it myself - the interesting part is making stock with the shells rather than cooking them in shells: 1 pound large shrimp (16 to 20 count), peeled, deveined, and rinsed, shells reserved 1 teaspoon table salt 1 cup dry white wine 4 peppercorns 5 coriander seeds 1/2 bay leaf 5 sprigs fresh parsley leaves 1 sprig fresh tarragon leaves 1 teaspoon lemon juice from 1 small lemon 1. Bring reserved shells, 3 cups water, and salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until fragrant, about 20 minutes. Strain stock through sieve, pressing on shells to extract all liquid. 2. Bring stock and remaining ingredients except shrimp to boil in 3- or 4-quart saucepan over high heat; boil 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in shrimp; cover and let stand until firm and pink, about 8-10 minutes. Drain shrimp, reserving stock for another use. Plunge shrimp into ice water to stop cooking, then drain again. Serve shrimp chilled with cocktail sauce. And the grilled shrimp I absolutely love - haven't made it in a while so it's more involved than I remember. But brining then marinating really makes it great. ingredients 1 quart water 1/3 cup salt 1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar 1 1/2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, unpeeled 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons dry white wine 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper Roasted Garlic-Herb Sauce (you can get the link from Epicurious.com - I made it the first time and thought nothing of it. The shrimp are delicious by themselves.) preparation Stir first 3 ingredients in medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Add shrimp. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Drain and rinse shrimp. Using shears, cut shrimp shells down center of back all the way to tail section. Using sharp knife, cut shrimp in their shells along the full length of the back (do not cut all the way through). Remove vein and pull off legs. Open shrimp. Whisk olive oil, white wine, garlic, parsley, and crushed red pepper in clean medium bowl. Add shrimp and stir; let stand 30 minutes. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place shrimp, flesh side down, on grill. Grill shrimp until pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and serve, passing Roasted Garlic-Herb Sauce separately. Bon Appétit, July 2001

HI ya Les! I was thinking this is a Lady poster and I might have come on stupid and not understanding the Kids and the money thing. I agree the carpet should act as a water traper, the decking sounds like older cca pt stuff so really the water/rot is not going to hurt it a whole lot more than the Sun has already has. Side Note>> I looked over a lagre Redwood 2x4 project that needed some help the upper area about 10x20' had been covered in OD Carpet for 5 years or so granted part of it was covered with a big overhang but still...I said the same thing so I removed the stuff Suprise Suprise not only was there no rot/mold the color was still red! Its A Funny World. J.

This is very common for this BEHR product to fail within the first few months. Actually it is usual rather than unusual. I have never seen it last on a deck the length that they suggest. Behr is the issue here and it will only get worse. There are several topical acids (acid 'salts') that you can apply and then pressure wash (yes, I said pressure wash, depending on your level of failure it may get most of it off). Next you can sand the areas that need to come up. The newer silicone based products tend to remain topical rather that 'penetrate' as advertised. Third you may try a stripper, there are several on the market that can help. Many contractors who have to deal with the "Behr stain problem" have tried these methods with varying degrees of success. Go back to Cabotor use Sikkens, they usually give around two good years and does back it up with a realistic warranty.