At home, the fun began. I let them all play outside in the fenced back yard . . . Ruby & Bubba acted as though they'd never run free before, which may have been the case. Bubba has discovered an obsession with fetching & giving, then doing it all over again. Who knows how long he could do this . . . I got bored after 10 minutes, but he was still going strong. They all seemed to get along, and we soon moved into the house, whereupon everydog fell asleep. The next morning, however, was another story . . . Bubba's instincts kicked in and he was so much more interested in marking everything that didn't move and some things that did, mating with his sister, and being sure no other dog came near her, that fights soon ensued. Ruby, having formed a pack of two with her brother, joined in the fighting, which included attacking VetteMan & myself when we attempted to break up any fights. Rico was a quavering mass of jelly; Cari was hiding under the bed or behind the toilet; April was refusing to come out of VetteMan's office. In addition, we had to give them each 4cc of chalky white suspension meds, complete with syringe . . . VetteMan held the dogs while I put in the meds. BRRRRRRRRRRRR - dog shakes mouth full of chalky white suspension meds and VetteMan, floor, countertops all spotted with white stuff. (I must mention that the next time, I held the dogs and VetteMan put in the meds. BRRRRRRRRRRRR - dog shakes mouth full of chalky white suspension meds and Andréa, floor, couch all spotted with white stuff. Luckily, we only have to do this once more.) The final straw was his unceasing attack upon his own reflection in the patio doors. Out came the crate; a phone call to my own vet got Bubba in for an emergency "removal of the naughty bits" surgery on Wednesday morning. When I brought him in, I discovered that he can walk quite nicely on lead . . . I have not tried Ruby on lead yet. He came home Wednesday afternoon, somewhat subdued, and slept . . . he is still in attack mode and is confined to his crate for the time being. Ruby will be spayed by my vet Friday morning. When the physical problems have been taken care of, these two will be wonderful pets. Ruby is affectionate, intelligent (learns commands quite quickly), and plays well with others, so long as her brother isn't part of the play group. Bubba is more self-confident, one might even say cocky . . . but he, too, will become a loving family pet, although it remains to be seen if he can learn to play well with others or if he will have to remain an only dog. On Thursday afternoon, alldogs are confined to VetteMan' office while Bubba comes out to play with his FAVORITE jingleball . . . . . . and play . . . . . . and play . . . . . . and play . . . . . . and play some more. Oh yes - anyone have an idea for a name . . . currently, "BUBBA" is a name I am even embarrassed to tell the receptionist . . . but I need something that sort of rhymes, as he does answer to it. When he isn't distracted by his sister Ruby, she of "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" fame . . . From HEATHER SHARBACH, our newest CRUSA foster home recruit: Reminds me of the old corny joke about the guy who got in a wreck on the way to the hospital where his wife was to deliver twins. Both were knocked unconscious and stayed that way for several days. Babies were born, a boy & a girl. When the woman woke up the nurse brought her beautiful babies in to her. "We had to have names for the babies, so we let your brother name them since you & your husband were both in comas." "OH NO!" responds the woman. "Not my brother!! What did he name them?" The nurse tells her the little girl twin has been named Deniece. "Really? That's not so bad," replies the mom. "What did he name my son?" The nurse quietly replied, "De Nephew."

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