The “Money Pit” Strikes Again

I wish I wasn’t the only person these things happened too! I mean really! I decided to have my roof looked at because I have a few leaks. The reason I know this is that I have about 5 water spots on my ceiling that I had been partially ignoring, but silently worrying about. The worrying came to a peak when a neighbor explained how he had seen some spots on his ceiling, reached up and his hand went through it.

So, I called the insurance company to see who they would recommend I call and started the process. Well , BKA was backed up and told me they would have someone call me next week and schedule a time to come out. I basically put things on hold. Tuesday night I got home from the hockey game and found a BKA brochure in my screen door. So, I called them on Wednesday to find out what happened. I explained I was supposed to have been called and I would have made arrangements to have been there. Anyway, the man on the phone explained that they had come out and I really needed to call my insurance company to have a CAT (catastrophe) team come out to inspect. Due to the storms recently this had been considered a disaster area and this way I might have it covered. He said I had some minor work that needed to be done. Basically, some shingles need to be replaced and I have a little bit of dipping.

I decided to get some more opinions and so Wednesday I call Don Kennedy roofing. Again I am told how busy they are and it will be several days before someone will be able to come out, but they will call first. Two hours later, Damien (from Don Kennedy roofing) calls to see if he could come by at 2pm. So much for a few days, but I leave work and rush home so he can take a look at my roof.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted where this would go next. Damien comes in and explains that I have some damage around my chimney that needs to be resealed and worked on, but that there is a bigger problem. It seems that after a tree limb dented my roof a little, that a squirrel decided to use that opportunity for a new home. The squirrel has removed the shingles in that area and dug through the roof into my ceiling and built a nest. I have cathedral ceilings, so there is not attic space just a gap between the drywall and the roof.

I’m sure the look on my face was priceless. I finally had to explain to the guy why I was so astonished. I mean, you would think I had built an ark or opened up and animal hotel.

So, now I am trying to find someone that will extract the squirrel nest from the ceiling and then patch the roof. It seems everyone wants to just patch the roof. I think this is nuts, since a squirrels nest is made of leaves and twigs. It will rot and bugs will get to it. Then I will have a whole other set of problems.

I also have a squirrels nest in my chimney, so I have the chimney sweep scheduled for Monday to clean out the chimney and repair the cap that is on it. I’m still looking for someone that will extract the squirrels nest from the roof, I am trying to catch the squirrels that are living there, and then I have to have the roof repaired. All the while having to pay for it all myself because the big kicker is that my Home Owners Insurance doesn’t cover anything that is related to “vermin”. So any damage to my home from bugs or critters is my own problem. GREAT!!!!!!

Bailey's Homecoming

The day had finally arrived and I was a bit over anxious! It was Saturday morning and I was up at 7:30 raring to go. I milled around the house a while, called to check in with the parents (they drove all night to FL) and then proceeded to take my time getting breakfast together and ready for the day. I still had plenty of time so I ran a few errands and then decided to go on up. I was only 30 minutes early for my noon appointment. :)

I first met with Jim and one of his assistants and we talked about some of the basics. The commands that Bailey had learned, the new rules and how to use the new collar. Bailey now has an e-collar. This is a collar that emit vibrations or electric shocks to be used for correction. The collar is very sophisticated. With the shock I can change the intensity from 10%-100%. None of which will really hurt him, but it gets his attention very quickly. Actually just holding the remote gets his full attention.

As far as new rules, there were several. To start with I can give no physical affection during this first week. This will help in my gaining the leadership role and also make him work harder for petting. The 2nd rule is that he can never sleep in the bed with me again. I don’t think this will be so hard for me, as he takes up a lot of room and gets real grumpy when I get up to use the bathroom at night. This is a leadership issue too. Pack dogs do no sleep with the pack leader and therefore Bailey shouldn’t sleep with me. The 3rd rule is that he can not be at my level at any time until I have achieved pack leader status. That means no furniture, no lap, and no stairs landing. He must stay below me at all times. So his new place is at my feet wherever I go. I also got some instruction on keeping my voice at a calm tone and give all commands this way. I should never have to raise my voice or pitch to get his attention. That is going to be very interesting indeed. :)

Then the really hard part came when they brought him out. I hadn’t seen my baby in 7 weeks at this point and we were both ecstatic. He knew immediately that momma was here and tried and tried to come to me. The trainer kept him in a “down” and we just sat there a long time. I had my hands in my pockets to try and keep me sane and from reaching for him. He was beside himself. He wanted me so bad and was freaking out because I couldn’t go to him. They said they hadn’t seen him act like that at all, but I was the one distraction they couldn’t provide during training.

We went through all the commands and I practiced with Bailey on the leash. He did very well but he looked exhausted! Both men stated that he was a very interesting case. He was even referred to as “stubborn as a mule” I just laughed and told them I completely understood. I’d been fighting with him for 6 years. :)

He was dying to leave though and finally it was time to go. We loaded him into the car and headed for the house. Bailey laid in the floor all the way home hardly bothering me at all. This is a first for us. Most trips, the first 20 minutes or so require me boxing him out of my lap and yelling off a lot. Not this trip. He knew I had the remote and he was good as gold.

Once home I let him go through the house and re-acclimate himself. He was moving very cautiously but I dismissed that. Almost immediately he jumped up on the couch and I had to zap him 3 times to get him down. From this moment on he laid on his bed. He only got up for water and potty breaks and then would go straight back to the bedroom. This went on the rest of the evening and I thought I was going to loose it. I had yet to see his tail wag or any sparkle in his eyes and panicked. I was so afraid that his spirit was gone. I want a dog that behaves, but I also want the fun loving side of him to still exist. I basically cried most of this afternoon. I never dreamed how hard it would be not to pet him. Especially with him begging for it like he was. That one evening was harder than all 7 weeks he was gone.

Sunday, was a bit better. We slept some, but had been up most of the night with Bailey coughing like crazy. I finally gave up around 7:30 am and took him out to potty. We had a minor disagreement over breakfast that was quickly ended by the collar and then all was fine. Over the course of Sunday we took a short walk and practiced all our commands at every opportunity. As we enter or exit any door I make him lie or sit down and wait to be released until I have come through the door. It’s a slow process, but seems to be getting better. His healing is much better than it has ever been and we may be able to take actual walks from now on. In the past I’ve almost dislocated my arm a few times. :)

We were up again most of the night on Sunday night and then continued our practicing on Monday off and on. He seems to be getting it, but I have to be paying very good attention. I have to catch him doing things improperly in order to correct him. This will go on for the next 38 days at least. Apparently, anything you do with a dog for about 40 days straight becomes a new habit. That’s our goal. Keep us in your thoughts. We have to make it through this.

Still Incarcerated!

Well, as you know, Bailey was supposed to be coming home this week. I had found out about the part time job going on hiatus on Friday and called the trainer to leave a message about our meeting. I didn't hear back from him during the day and tried calling again that afternoon without getting him again.

After work I had a computer client to go see and so I went on to help her out. While I was there Jim called me. Corinne told me to go ahead and take the call and so I answered. Jim said he had seen that I had called a few times and wanted to get back with me. He then told me that "Bailey had earned himself another week" I kinda chuckled a little and asked what had happened. He said he had been pushing Bailey's buttons and an episode had occurred. Of course, I laughed a bit again and asked which buttons he had been pushing. Bailey has a lot of these and I was just curious which one had given him some issues. He then explained that he had been working with Bailey for about an hour and a half on commands. He had been dishing them out, one after another for a very long period of time. Basically he wore him out, but never the less, there shouldn't be any issues here.

He said Bailey had done an excellent job and responded to every command he was given and had earned himself some affection. Apparently Jim reached down to pet him on the head in congratulations, and Bailey whipped around and snapped at him. Now, I know this was due to fatigue and so does Jim. This has always been an issue with Bailey. On the weekends he doesn't get to sleep all day because I'm there and he is afraid he will miss something. Then, he tends to act like a toddler that didn't get a nap, and is very snippy.

To his defense, Jim said that he immediately knew he had messed up. Jim said he was instantly apologizing and nuzzling trying to make up. However, Jim also feels that this should never cross Bailey's mind as an option. He is planning to continue pushing buttons on a regular basis until he gets a full week with no events. Then he will call me back about my training.

Maybe next week!!

FreeCreditReport.Com

For all those people out there like me, who thought free meant exactly that, free. Let me tell you how wrong we are. I went to the website to get my yearly free credit report and make sure all was well. I couldn't remember where I had gone in the past and that crazy jingle kept popping into my head. So, off I went to get my credit report.

Jump to this afternoon. I was going through my credit card account and discovered this strange charge for $14.95. So, like a smart person, I called my credit card company to find out what the charge was. This is where I discovered it was for my FREE report. I assured the VISA company that I could handle this and immediately called the toll free number for FREECreditReport.com.

I am greeted by a woman who immediately wants my SS# and for security reasons my mothers maiden name. Now giving anyone my SS# is not what I call secure. :) I then explain to her that I would like my account closed and the $14.95 refunded to my credit card account. She got quite an attitude with me about how I should have read the screens more completely. I assured her that I didn't care that it had been on the pages I read and filled out. The information was so hidden and non obvious that most people probably missed this. Especially since it was advertised as FREE. She got some more attitude with me about how they were within their rights to charge me the charge and so I just explained to her the way this was going to work. Either she credited my account with the money or I would dispute the charge with my credit card company. Either way she wouldn't be getting my money. Now, I really have her attention and she explains that as a "courtesy" they will credit the money back this one time. I assured her there wouldn't be a next time and that I knew I couldn't be the first person to call about this problem.

Ugh!! I just hate it when companies, purposefully try to con people! It is so wrong! Yes, I fell for it. But, I'm here warning the rest of you not to do it!!!

Apparently if I had read every word on the page I would have seen that I was signing up for some ridiculous service. Now, I know I should have read every word, but who does that. The company knows that too. That's why they advertise like they do.

For those of you wanting your actual FREE credit report, you can go to annualcreditreport.com. There is a $6.95 charge if you want to actually see your score. The report itself is free though.

Part Job Over

Well, after all my sleep deprived days of work, my Pottery Barn time is over. Williams-Sonoma corporate office has put out a hiring freeze like lots of companies and seasonal people are out. Even though the money was helping pay off some bills, the hours were killing me. I will say that a few months to get my home back in order will be nice and I could go back at a later time. The manager said she wanted to stay in touch with me so that when the hiring freeze was over she could possibly bring me back. So, now I may go looking for another part time gig, but I'm going to get things in order at the house and with Bailey first. Let me know if you know of any part time work. :)

Bailey is Coming Home!!!!

Yes, you heard it right! My baby is coming home! I called yesterday afternoon for my weekly check in (that usually doesn't prove too enlightening) and was greeted with "Miss Patterson, I was about to call you! Bailey is ready to go home." As you can guess I was thrilled and managed to choke out a "really?" He explained that Bailey has a new outlook on life and is doing fabulously.

Now to setup my training appointment and pickup date. Hopefully my PB schedule will be up today and I can find a day that I'm not working to go get him. I want to make sure that I have time for my training and then some re bonding time for us the night he comes home. I just hope everything is a great as I am expecting. I am very excited and yet a little apprehensive about my ability to continue what Jim has started for me. I'm sure I will have lots of new things to share once I've been through training. :) Wish me luck!

Oh, and to top it all off, he asked if I was interested in having Bailey groomed before he comes home! I was ecstatic about this option as I was already wondering how nasty he would be since he hasn't had a bath in 8 weeks. Is it worth it for me to traumatize him his first night home with a bath or just let him stink and get my house dirty. Jim told mehe has a "good" groomer down the street that he uses regularly and she has already met Bailey. Better yet, it's going to cost $40. Petco charges me almost $60 after you tack on the "special handling" charges for my special needs dog. Woo Hoo! I get my baby back and he will be clean too!