I've spent the morning reading and enjoying the success stories on your site, and the experience has encouraged me to send you updates on Zorro, the wonderful cattle dog we adopted from you in August 2002.

Zorro is such a wonderful addition to our family. He is so well-behaved, and so smart, too. He has trained me to get him his Greenie after his lunch. If I forget, he comes up to me and makes me follow him to the treat drawer. He then sits in front of the drawer, looks at me, and touches his nose to the drawer.

I do wish I'd made sure from the beginning that Zorro had more contact with other dogs, though, as he is now canine aggressive. We're working on that, though, and he's making progress.

He's actually better now with cats than with dogs. Of our three cats, he gets along best with Frank (in the attached picture). Every night Mark and I will be on the couch with Frank next to Mark and Zorro in my lap. Sometime around 11 p.m., Frank and Zorro will switch places. It's like the changing of the Guard!

Our kids, Anna and Jimmy, adore him, and Anna especially loves to take pictures of him. She took all the pictures I'm sending you. I know there are a lot, but they are all so cute, it's hard to pick the best.

He still has problems with itchy skin on occasion, and I've been working hard to figure out if it's due to a food allergy or some sort of nutrient deficiency. It's a slow process, but I know it'll be worth it once we figure out exactly what he needs. I can't believe he very nearly was euthanized because of this skin problem! Such a great dog, and so well trained!

I have often wished I knew how his previous owner lost him, and why s/he didn't find him at the pound where he was turned in. Perhaps he had wandered further afield than they thought. Hard to imagine, as he rarely ventures more than 20 feet away from me now. He has three beds throughout the house so he can be comfortable as he follows me around the house all day. Even with three beds, he chooses to sleep on my bed at night. It gets crowded, but I wouldn't have it any other way. He is so cuddly and loving.

Thank you so much, Shirley. I can't imagine a better dog for us than this guy.

Margie Matteson