I (like others here) do rescue and shelter work all the time. At least 5 members here (that I know of) do too. The way I know is by running into them in cyberspace during the frantic Katrina rescues, when we were all searching for rides to towns that had a space for a dog or two in their shelter.

One member here hooked me up with a ride from Mississippi to SoCal for four dogs and their crates, and all we had to do here was send two SUVs down to meet them in Barstow and pick up the dogs. (The town where I live took in over 100 Katrina animals. We could never have done it without the cyber-help of hundreds of other volunteers across the country, sitting at their computers with maps and lists and begging for rides, food, crates, blankets, and medical supplies.)

In that process I ran into several LB members. :> No surprise to me, I have to say.

This forum is extremely dog-oriented....

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

There! It's back.

Thx Connie! Wish I could rate you twice

Thx Rick. Took that one a couple of weeks ago.

I was half expecting this thread to be about astronomy.

I never knew the stars were the result of ratings, or that you could rate! Interesting.

As far as stars are concerned, my feeling is that a member should be registered for 6 months, maybe even a year, before they can "rate" anyone. That way they can get into the flow of this forum, read posts and get a feel for the advice that's given.

As it stands, anyone that is registered for even a day can down-rate someone without even knowing anything about the person whatsoever. I think and wish that would change by not letting ratings come from brand new members.

I've read posts from people who just came to the forum that have 4 or 5 stars, after no more than 1 or 2 posts - literally! Some have a high star rating although they haven't posted more than 20 posts. That's just too - ummmm - weird. Especially when those with extreme working dog experience have the same number of stars as someone who just registered. Just throwing stars around or removing them willy-nilly is not desirable for a serious forum such as this one.

I hope Ed will change this and require at least 6 months of being registered before a member can rate others.

I totally agree, Sandy. YOu look very happy in the picture...and the dog lookin' beat!

Why, thank you Rick

Rick, Sandy has a reason she looks so happy that she will perhaps share {{hint, hint Sandy}}