We rescued Harley in November 2002 from a horrible situation. He was at his previous owners house tied to a tree with no food nor water and he only weighed 68 pounds when we got him. Harley was a St. Bernard who needed to weigh ALOT more than that. I got him around 11:00 a.m. and he was at my vet's office by 1:00 p.m. and was diagnosed with heartworms then. He went through the heartworm treatment and did great. He bounced back and was putting on weight steadily. We then had him neutered and caught up on all his shots. On March 16th, we put Harley outside around 2:00 p.m. and left for a birthday party and came home around 7:30 p.m. and Harley couldn't walk on his back left leg. I took him to the vet the following morning and he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. He was on Rimadyl and GlycoFlex twice a day and it helped him a little, but not enough. Harley was in so much pain that he became aggressive toward my husband who had always been able to play a little rougher with Harley because Harley enjoyed it so much. Harley still wanted to play rough even though he was in pain and when my husband went to play with him, the pain must have been unbearable and Harley bit him. My husband was upset, but he understood. I have two daughters, ages 7 and 3 and Harley was glued to them at the hips. He loved them and would NEVER let anything happen to them.....remind you, we only had him five months. I just want everyone to know how sweet and special Harley was to us. I also would like to let everyone know that you can make a difference. If you see an animal being abused, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Don't think that it is none of your business because it is. That animal doesn't have a voice and you have to be their advocate. If it weren't for me getting involved and taking Harley away from his previous abusive owners, we never would have gotten to know and experience the love of the most special dog in the world. Thank you for listening and please say a prayer for my beloved dog whom I will NEVER forget.