01/16/2004 My gawd - five years?!?! A lot certainly has changed. Here are the highlights/lowlights:

• xx/xx/2000 - Life-changing event: I met, moved in with and married my better half, Laurie. With her came three cats: Bailey, Tufts and Peter, all sisters.
• 07/xx/2000 - Adopted Girlfriend, a 2 y/o rottie, from the Martinez shelter. Beautiful dog, good natured toward people and animals, but not terribly sharp.
• 11/04/2001 - Traveler died at home (kidney failure); I was bereft.
• 10/18/2002 - Another life-changing event: while vacationing at Clear Lake, Stonewall's right rear leg broke. Within five days, his leg was amputated. Final diagnosis, canine osteosarcoma. We elected to follow the most aggressive treatment plan available: cysplatin and carboplatin (chemotherapy) treatments; six treatments at three-week intervals. The only significant side effect was that his amputation site remained bald for nine months. Without chemo, his life expectancy would be four months. Because he was dog-aggressive through middle age, we'd limited Stonewall's outings quite a bit, but looking back, he had developed a limp which appeared on those few occasions when we took long walks. I took that to be a symptom of old age; in retrospect, it may well have been the pain from cancer.
• 11/18/2002 - Adopted Abby, a 3 month-old shepherd mix, from the Pinole shelter
• 09/25/2003 - Laurie and I took the plunge and bought a home together. We really enjoy it; much more space, although there's much more to do, as well
• 10/10/2003 - After having developed sudden paralysis, we realize there's no choice but to have Stonewall euthanized. It's a difficult decision; his spirit is still strong, but he's unable to support his weight when he goes outside or even roll himself over onto his belly; he's truly helpless. Our last year together was a wonderful one. We took lots of trips, had lots of walks, enjoyed much affection, had lots of treats and just reveled in our doggieness.
• 11/10/2003 - Not having learned our lesson by having a single puppy we adopt Sam, a 9 month-old mastiff/lab mix (read, 'pit bull') from the Martinez shelter. He's a handful. Very smart, handsome, friendly toward people and animals, but full of energy and pretty determined to do what he wants. We'll see how long that lasts.

05/17/1999 Added a section about Otter to Family Info

01/21/1999 Added code to Background, Family Info and Family News pages to cause backgrounds to be static (doesn't work in Netscape)

01/20/1999 Added code to Links page to facilitate opening hyperlinks in new windows

01/06/1999 Fixed bug which prevented images from appearing when using Netscape (Thanks, Rachel!)

12/09/1998 Added a link to the rottie ring

11/09/1998 Poor Stonewall managed to tear a ligament in his left hind leg. He'd been limping for a couple weeks before I took him to the vet. I'd thought he'd just strained something playing catch. Given his size (not huge--only 92 lb., but but the 'small dog' treatment is recommended for dogs under 25 lb. only), he had to have another ligament split, then the loose end pinned to his tibia (shinbone). He has to keep quiet for 12 weeks, which is an eternity for a dog as active as he is.

09/27/1998 Adopted a feral kitten on 09/27/98; she remains unnamed, but I'm considering calling her Lizard. She's a grey tabby, but her stripes kind of turn into spots, giving her a somewhat reptilian appearance. Here's her second-best side:

04/25/1998--Updated Interests to reflect current activities; minor fixes to My Job and home page

01/31/1998 Added [Interests] section; added a photo of myself and the mutts at the Golden Gate Bridge to [Our US Trip]

01/18/1998 Added photos of the dogs at the Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia state lines, and added an explanation for the absence of photos for the remaining states

01/15/98--Added Our US Trip information through Oregon; added photos of the dogs at the British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska, Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah state/province lines.
Added a picture of myself before I quit smoking to Background