Hula, wow, I am so sorry to hear this.
Retic, glad you are feeling better. Maybe you did have the flu? I just read a story saying my area is ranking very high in the nation for flu activity. I went to my friend's last weekend. There was some kind of crud going around then. Not two days later, and I have been fighting something ever since. I have been taking some antiviral stuff like Elderberry tincture etc...
Yonjuro, yes Papaw is right about the dogs. Here is a better idea of what she looks like.

This was her summer coat though. She is still trying to turn sable for some unknown reason. It
will be close to a year, before I will know exactly how her hair will turn out. Her parents were
both full blood, and on site. The mama dog was a white GSD. Her mom weighed 100 pounds.
Her daddy was a Red Merle Aussie. I didn't ask what he weighed. My dog was the only one out of
the bunch who had her ears go up. Her ears aren't exactly like a GSD, shape wise. When I got her
her back was solid black. The whole top of her was dark. The only light places were underneath, and her lower legs. Plus her face of course. She looked like a black and cream GSD, and there aren't many of them that I've seen. I've seen two black and cream GSD's online that looked very much like my dog. My dog has a weak ear though. I could've fixed it, but she wasn't cooperating. Most of the time it is up though. Most people that see her thinks she is a husky/GSD mix, or just a husky. That is okay. She has the personality of both the GSD & Aussie. She is delightful, but can be a handful! She is my buddy, and she loves to please me. She is too smart for her own good. It is pretty bad when sometimes you have to spell words, and she knows them too! (not all of them, but 2-3 big ones...like O U T)