Euph...I agree with Deb...Clara's found a home with you and Mrs. E. She's a cutie! How are you going to send that face to live with a stranger? 
Tidewater Va. we found a baby Dobe half starved wandering in and out of traffic, stopped and picked him up.
Brought the pup home, his tail was docked but his ears were left alone. Problen with 4 little kids and the reputation of Doberman Pincher's what to do.
The kids named him Mike after the Priest at church and fought over who Mike was to sleep with at night.
Damn dog was working his way into our lives and at 5-6 months in having him around, he hated to go out side, wanted to be in the house around us, I finally took him to a vet--we decided we had to keep him.
He was healthy as a horse and we had him neutered, shot full of anti everything dogs get. The Vet we took him to was on some kind of rage that day, she was in tears about how how people treated their dogs, the hounds for hunting I gathered at the time.
As I later found out, in the South, people in the house dogs outside or in the barn.
A week or so later that damn dog lay still as I removed the stitches from his nutering----very good dog.
Hubby came home from months at sea and was not comfortable with the dog around, I came home from work to be told that Mike had been given away, the kids went into a funk , I cried but what to do.
Hubby was home for 4-6 months then out to sea for 9 months again, damn Skimmers, and we were left with no protection, hell of a life but what to do????? My boys from that time on never really trusted their dad and my girls ---well you know Daddy's girls, but they also pulled away------All over a dog.
The dog represented safety to the kids, guarded them while their Dad was away. He came home and removed that feeling of security then when away again. Sad how life works out for kids.
