Mary - Thank you for the apology. It was very brave of you to do so. I understand totally, I know how it is to let your temper get the better of you. Apology accepted gratefully.

Zippy-kat - I don't think I have one breed that's my fav. I like Labs a lot as well as Border Collies. My dog at my parents' house is a Border Collie/Lab mix and he's the smartest dog I've ever met. I trained him in one day (his first day in our house) everything he knows, both with hand signals as well as voice commands. He's a great dog. I used to get emotional as a teen and he always knew and would run up, sit on my lap (OUCH!) and lick my tears. He's a great spirit.

Boo is also very intuitive, though a lot less considerate than Wylie. He likes to wake us up at five in the morning to let us know he's hungry, even though he never gets fed till at least seven. Stubborn cat.