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Dear List,

Your response to my post on March 13th, 2004 was wonderful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The outpouring of feelings was so heart warming and each and every one made me cry.

I had asked if I was the only one out there that was MAD AS HELL. I asked if there were any of you out there who were tired of hiding what was killing our dogs. I asked if any of you would STEP UP with me and STAND UP and be counted. So many of you DID! But I have been surprised how many of you haven't. That is your choice but what choice are we giving our dogs that are dying much too young?

In the responses from you, you have shared that you have lost some of your Boxers at 3 and 4 (and younger) to BCM, some of you have lost your dogs as young as 3 years old to lymphoma, and some have been lost at 3 and 4 to hemangiosarcoma. This should upset all of us, NOT just some of us.

I was told that after I posted my "Challenge - What is killing our dogs?" someone who is well known in this breed commented, "You know they have a lot of hemangiosarcoma in their line." Is 6 of my babies "a lot" in 10 years??? HELL YES IT IS!!! This person has obviously not turned that "finger" towards themselves. Does making comments like that make their line seem superior to the lines of other breeders??? I hope they think so, because this person happens to have the same bloodlines that I do. Shame on him!

Is losing 5 to DM over 29 years "a lot"? HELL YES IT IS!!! Is losing 6 to cardiomyopathy over the years "a lot"? HELL YES IT IS!!! When these are my dogs dying from these terrible diseases, YES!!! AM I THE ONLY ONE??? I think not.

In the 29 years that we have been in this wonderful sport of dogs, have my dogs just died of "old age" and peacefully gone in their sleep? NO!!! HAVE YOURS??? PLEASE, PLEASE STEP UP WITH ME..........STAND UP AND COME FORWARD AND GET ANGRY WITH ME! LET HONESTY PREVAIL!!! Come out and let's share our information so that it will help our breed in the future.

I have been told that we still have time to send in a donation, large or small, to the ABCF and we can have any of our precious dogs that we have lost in the past added to this Memorial Wall for the ABC…THIS YEAR.

Along with the Memorial Wall there will be a Memorial Photo Gallery to commemorate our Boxers that have given us so much and asked for so little. This will be displayed year after year at ABC and will be an ongoing project.

Send your photos of these dogs along with a donation, age at death and cause of death (if you desire to share this information). I personally feel that this is very important. We need to see that all of us will be affected sooner or later. We need to see that we are NOT alone. Let's make this year a banner year for the Charitable Foundation and demonstrate that old ways and taboos CAN be changed.

I would like to make this challenge to all of you out there. I AM MAD AS HELL and I am ready to make a stand for our wonderful dogs. Please stand with me.

For years and years, we would tell people close to us what happened to the dogs we lost and what they died of. Sometimes, we would just stay silent about the cause of death and suffer quietly. We were told that if the word got out that our line had heart problems or cancer no one would breed to our dogs or buy puppies from us. Certain bloodlines have been whispered about for years, "this one has heart problems or that one has a lot of cancer in their line." Well, guess what....................if we own Boxers, we have it all. Now DM has reared its ugly head and we are having to put down otherwise healthy dogs because they can't stand on their rears any longer. We lost a dog to DM 25 years ago but it wasn't diagnosed as that back then. We have lost 3 others since then, Desperado, Sadie and Ribba.

ARE WE BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE HONEST? I will tell you that when I have held each one of my sweet babies in my arms, looking into their beautiful eyes as the vet pushes the fluid into their veins to end this precious life, I want to tell them that NO LONGER will I be silent. That I WILL fight for more funds to be raised, I WILL fight for grants to be awarded, and I WILL do what I can to help stop these killers! WE CAN DO THIS IN NUMBERS! It will take more than a few to step forward. STEP UP WITH ME!

Step up and be counted. Do this for them. They cannot speak for themselves but our voices can be heard. Instead of squabbling over minor things lets channel our resources toward the most worth while cause there is, and that is our Boxer's lives for future generations to come.

Will this kind of honesty hurt us and our reputations? Maybe. Has dishonesty killed our Boxers? Yes.

Please bring a photo of a dog or dogs you have lost to ABC, or mail it in with their name, age and cause of death, and with a donation. Even a $5 or $10 donation will do. If you feel you can give more, then give it. Bring an auction item to be auctioned at the ABCF Auction at ABC.

My photos will be there, will yours? Let's fill that Memorial Wall and the Memorial Photo Gallery with those beautiful faces! Please…for their sake.

Mail your photos and information along with a donation, any amount, payable to the American Boxer Charitable Foundation, Sharon Fosseen, Treasurer, P.O. Box 8667, Spokane, WA 99203. This wonderful Memorial Wall will later be posted to the

ABCF web site.

Some of you have asked, "Do I need to send in another donation if I had memorialized my dog with the Foundation prior to this year?" NO, no other donation is necessary – your dog will be automatically listed on the Memorial Wall. If you would like to add their age and cause of death, that information can be added by sending it on to Sharon Fosseen. If you would like to give an additional amount, it will be very much appreciated.

Thank you for listening and God bless our precious Boxers.