very few people EXPECT their lives to change, and to presume that there are never circumstances that require rehoming an animal is nothing but self-righteous drivel.

forget the issue of divorce, which has an element of choice. ANYONE can become disabled in an instant, and if you think that there's some great social system out there that's gonna take care of you when that happens, and pay all your bills the next day--if at all, if it's not a work-related accident--you are living in a fantasy land. have your heard about companies downsizing? do you really think that it can't happen to ANYONE'S family? do you think that foreclosure ONLY happens to people you might think are too stupid to read the fine print, or don't really deserve a house in the first place? what about when your house is lost in a natural disaster, and your insurance company says, "oops, well, we don't cover Acts of God?" and your loving extended family says, "sure you can move in, but leave your stinky husband and your animals someplace else." you think it doesn't happen?

this ranks right up there with those folks who say that no one on a fixed income, be it disability, social security, unemployment, have the right to have an animal, because if they're "that" poor, they won't provide good food or medical care. as we know, no one who lives in multi-million-dollar homes, or drives mercedes EVER abuse their kids or animals, or incest their daughters, or made their money by stealing from the very poor you're talking about.

a raw nerve struck? damned right.

WE HAVE A CAT THAT NEEDS A HOME HERE, FOLKS. let's focus on her.

MC