In Nov 2003, I was dealing with the 2nd year anniversary of my RB Willie's death (he died on Nov 9, 2001). It was so painful feeling alone in dealing with it, and after a few days, I was overwhelmed with a need to find a place that shared my love for pets, so I did an internet search for "pet message board" and Pet Talk was one of the first hits. I checked it out, going straight to Dog General, and never left .