Ah, C. Bob, my daughter and I picked up a huge pit bull off the street once. We were always taking in strays until we found their owners. He never barked, never messed in the house, spent three weeks living in her room, most of the time. The only reason I didn't let him in the rest of the hosue is I didn't like the way he looked at the cats! His name, we found out, was GuySkiLee and he belonged to a pretty sad Vietnam vet, whose soon to be ex-girlfriend, had let the dog loose, after removing his collar and tags, while the guy was out of town. He'd been the runt of the litter and his owner raised him from just a couple of weeks on. Was very glad to see his dog. I have never met a more gentle and gentlemanly dog as Guy.

BTW...good thing you DO have a tomato patch! Sorry for stating the obvious about the socks. In our house it's just the washer what eats 'em!