Our family has always had a pet around, dog or cat, since before I was born. More to the truth -- our family usually had several dogs and cats, most of which happened to have been strays and rescues. Rescuing homeless and otherwise unwanted vagabonds from the highways and the byways is a family tradition. This practice of rescuing unloved waifs was not confined to just me, my sister Susie had her fair share of rescued animals, but the animal with whom I mostly associate my sister is actually a collection of dogs, each of which bore the name of "Marwen." Susie always insisted on adopting a shelter dog. If you were to ask Susie why she preferred a shelter dog she would respond very matter-of-factly with something like: "We adopted my brother from a shelter, so why not the dog too?"

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