What is the solution to this equation involving cats, dogs, and lambs?

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The equation "cats + dogs = lamb" raises questions about solving for "dogs." Participants discuss whether the problem involves assigning digits to letters, suggesting it may be complex and potentially unsolvable without computational help. Simplifying the equation by moving "cats" to the other side is proposed as a potential method. The difficulty of the problem is acknowledged, with some suggesting that it may not have a straightforward solution. Overall, the discussion emphasizes the challenges of solving such equations without additional context or tools.
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If cats + dogs = lamb, what does dogs equal?
 
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Please simplify your answers as I'm finding this concept rather difficult to get my head around.
 
Bad_Boy_Blue said:
If cats + dogs = lamb, what does dogs equal?
Surely you just move the cats to the other side of the equals sign. Right?

The Bob (2004 ©)
 
Is this a problem where every letter is assigned a digit? And thus this problem is the sum of two four digit numbers? Or is it something else entirely?

- Warren
 
If it is what chroot is suggesting it is, it looks hard to figure without using a computer. Making a few simple eliminations (O=0 or 9), reduces the number of possibilities to about 10^5 - notice that there are 10 different letters, so all the digits must be used. Hmmm...looks like a toughie.

Are you just making up a generic example off the top of your head, or is this the exact question from a book or homework ? If the former, there may be no solution at all, and even if there are solutions, they may not be paper-and-pencil-able.

Are you allowed to write a program ?
 
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