[verybigf]

Just to be clear, I was (somewhat) kidding with the doom and gloom. There was a lot I loved, and there are dogs I still think about and miss years later. Some dogs are so good and sweet and there is something super special about a dog who is thrilled to see you even thogh you quicked a nail once by accident, pulled on there hair etc. pretty much evry time they see you. i used to brush out a golden once a month who had a major tendancy to matt, he licked what ever part of me he could reach through a lot of it and never stopped wagging his tail. Thinking about all the dogs I miss is actually making me tear up, you spend this time with them on a regular basis, and dogs that are so trusting and loving in potentially stessful senarios make you fall so in love with them. Dealing with people and their expectations, demands, nitpicking was definately harder than even the most beligerant dog. Once a girl tried to hit me with her huge prada purse because I clipped her english sheepdog to short because he was so matted. She told me she was debating returning him to his breeder because she didn't want an ugly short haired dog!