artbyakm2183's Blog

Last Saturday a Service Man came to our home to fix the microwave. It needed parts so the man had to come back, said he would come back today..Saturday. Then it was said that he would be here friday...No problem, a bit annoyed that they rescheduled without asking but whatever. However, this did not happen! No one showed up even though THE service people changed the schedule. This morning my parents (their microwave) called the costomer service department to ask what was going on. What was supposed to be a call to find out when the guy would be here turned into a shocking conversation!

First, my dad talks to customer service....they tell him that someone came to the house yesterday (friday) and no one was here. That was not true, our home has several people living here not to mention 6 dogs that would bark up a storm if someone came to the door! Besides the fact that at the TIME THEY TOLD US he was here, there were at least 4 people in the house....including myself and my dad who was waiting for him!!!!!! Well after revealing this to the lady on the phone she "checks" her information or something (I was not the one on the phone so not sure exactly) and then says that he called around 3:30 and had no answer and didn't stop by....again not correct, no one called and with caller ID we were able to double check even though we KNOW that dad would have answered the phone for them or called back should a message have been left...nada...it was a lie. But who lied? From what I heard the service man had filled the log ...which would mean he lied, but then why the changes told to us by the lady on the phone? URGh....doesn't matter, they tell us that it was rescheduled for the 28th and that they don't do services on weekends....ok one, how is that when the guy was out here last weekend? on saturday?? When questioned this the lady answered that in the log it says he was here on Friday! So obviously the service man lied on the log...because he wasn't supposed to be here on a saturday?Probably. Two: why would you reschedule a time without consulting the customer? So far we have been lied to  and had someone make an appointment without knowing if the customer  would be here, Let alone asking us !!!!

So after going through that my mom takes over the phone...dad isn't getting through with being nice so mom does her thing. She started off nice enough, it wasn't that she was trying to be mean just wanted information and to get the friggin' microwave fixed when it was said it would be fixed! If nothing else to have them correct and admit the  "mistake" THEY made. Well the lady pretty much repeats the incorrect information to my mother a few times, without so much as listening to my mother, so my mother asks for a supervisor...not an unreasonable request considering what was being said and what wasn't being done. The lady side steps giving her the supervisor with every excuse there is!!! Even saying that he was in a meeting to saying he wasn't even there!!! Another lie. This goes on for about a half hour...mom kept repeating that she wanted a supervisor and the lady kept making excuses not to send her through including saying that he would give my mom the same info she had....mom said she didn't care and wanted to talk to the supervisor and the lady would say the next line! At this point the excuses are runmning through the cycle over and over..."he's not here" "he's in a meeting" "he'll tell you the same thing I am" yadda yadda yadda.....

I asked mom if the lady was a robot ( lol) because she was just repeating the same lies over and over again to avoid putting a supervisor on the phone....a simple request!!! So mom says something to me and the lady then puts her on hold supposedly trying to get the supervisor at last......That is where I left the room. As of right now it sounds like mom and dad are taking the microwave out to take it back under warenty (don't know for sure though, I am just hearing a lot of noise and in this house that could be anything!) and get another...and I hope my parents complain to Sears about their service people. I assume Sears uses another company  for the repairs but if this is the "service" and "customer service" that company  provides I think Sears should know about it and if they have gotten enough complaints maybe they will DO something!

Anyway...I will be back later to update when I find out where this is going. I am just so dumbfounded that this is happening! Why is it so hard to put a supervisor on the phone? No matter what they are going to say they should still be put on. My mom worked in a company that took service calls all the time so she knows how it works...but  also knows that it is a load or BLEEP that no one above this lady was there to take the call! Don't get me wrong, i believe in being nice to the customer service people...but this was worthy of some harsh talking. My dad was nice and got nowhere, my mom started nice then only raised her voice a bit in frustration and repeatd herself.... but the lady wanted to play games. So if you plan to call Sears' service people , be prepared. Who knows what they will throw at you.

Yestrerday was my son's first day at preschool ! So excited for him and he was excited to be going! We made it a big thing for him, daddy even went into work late so he could be there with us to send our son off to his first day. He was in a great mood but very sleepy when we left....I was happy for both! LOL

My day was not limited to seeing him off to school. I had my own agenda that was school related! I am now a Art teacher assistant (Volunteer) one the two days that my son is in preschool! What is really nice about that is that I am in the same scool as he is.

My first day was exciting for me, I met the 8th grade classes that I will be with for the better part of the year. I didn't get to do a whole lot, I did help some but with the subject of there art project being Ben Day dots/Pop art it is not something that is exteremly hard...as it shouldn't be for a first project. Though I did little while there I was far to excited to be bored! LOL

Tomorrow (Thursday) I meet the 6th grade classes, who will need my help more. They are doing One point perspective (for those who are not aware of what that is: The point in which all lines vanish to on the horizon. EX: if you stand in the road and look straight ahead, the two lines that make up the road seem to get closer to each other as they reach the horizion line, thus making the road seem smaller and smaller giveing it depth) I am real excited about this class because I get to share some of my related art work with them and show them what being patient and practiceing can do. I will be bringing in a painting and some sketches to show them. I am also excited because I will be able to share my knowledge more with them, according to the teacher and the art she showed me from them they need help!  That is going to be fun for me big time!

I am hoping that this volunteer position will lead to bigger and better and more permentant things. No I do not want to be a teacher full time(at least not forever), but I do believe that it will help me accomplish other goals, even if this does not go beyond what it is now I think it will be good to have had the chance to do this!

 

Anyway in another update

my pooch is just about to the point of 100% clearance of Parvo...it has been a long wait but I am happy that the end is in sight and that we have come so far with so much luck! tech. we are past the two week mark since last exposure and the 2 1/2 week mark for her shots to have made her immune. So just the rest of this week and we are good! I think that we will make it just fine....thanks to all for your prayers, It helped obviously! Her chances were so slim to not get it and yet she hasn't! Thank you!

Well it has been 2full weeks,today, since the first exposure to Parvo...and one since Peanut has been gone. We have been good thus far, no odd behavior. However we still have a week to go...at least I am giving it another week and going from Sunday when Peanut passed (the last exposure) instead of today...mainly to be more on the safe side. I will probably watch her for a long time, but my hopes that she didn't get it are growing....each day that she wakes up and starts playing and eating like always I breath a bit easier! I am not kidding myself and thinking that things are all clear...by at least a week they are not...

I will just be happy when we make it through the weeks and she is fine...when this is over. One more week and I can breath again two more and I will be comfortable saying she didn't get it and four...well I will stop watching so close! LOL

Thanks to all for your prayers and thoughts! Just keep praying!

This weekend started off really good. We had been watching a couple of dogs, we were staying at a different house …just really enjoying the family time and being away from the everyday. It was a good couple nights.

However, Sunday rolled around with a somber note. One of the dogs we were watching was very sick. She had been a little sick earlier in the week but it seemed just like she had ate something or having anxiety about not being with her owner. But Sunday morning she seemed much worse…she wasn’t moving, very lethargic and with severe diarrhea  that was black…it was just falling out of her while she lay on the floor. Well being that this was FAR from a normal activity for any dog , made the choice to get her into the vet, emergency vet being Sunday. We made the arrangements with the owners who were on their way home from out of town, but would not be back for several hours so that we could get the dog in before they got home.

 

I took her in, My husband had to stay with our son so I was alone. When we got there they took a stool sample and tested it for Parvo… it came back negative but the good news stopped there. They told me it was probably a false negative and that they were still treating her as a probable parvo case.  They then took blood (mind you this is all spanning over hours that we were there), the poor dog didn’t even move as they tried to get her blood….they had issues with that because her blood pressure was so low and her temp was low as well. She made one sound the whole time and it was barely a noise. After that they wrapped her up in towels and stuck some hot water bottles under her to help her temp rise then they went to another emergency. Leaving me alone in the room with her.

 

I had been pacing the room, worried about a lot of things, when I heard her let out a short loud (as loud as a small dog can) bark, when I looked at her, her tongue was hanging out of her mouth and she wasn’t breathing….I had to open the door and call down the hall to someone to come…. She had died, sort of. There was no heart beat one minute and then the next there was, they took her to another room to incubate her and help her live…this after I had to call the owners and see what they wanted to do and how far they wanted to go to keep her alive.  The vets got her breathing on her own for a while, but it wasn’t long before I had to make another call to ask what to do should she crash again… the answer was grim but had to be, 1,500 dollars is a lot to put into a dog that will probably not make it anyway.

 

A short time later I was informed that she had passed on….again I had to call up the owners and tell them and have them speak to the vet about what to do next. I spent my time there mostly in tears…for the poor dog I was in there for and for my own puppy who was now in danger of going through the same thing.

 

What a horrible day it was. I was at the vet from 2:30pm until after 7pm just to walk out without a dog and a head full of worry and questions. I have a puppy that has only had one set of shots, she was exposed to the other dog everyday this past week! Her chances of getting it are high, but thankfully, it seems from information I have gotten, her chances of  surviving it are high as well should she get it. We also have that we will be able to catch it early on our side…I know what to look for , now.

 

Today is Monday, I will be taking my dog into the vet this afternoon. Originally it was for shots, but the vet is concerned for her…as am I. He wants to check her stool, that as I discovered this morning is loose, not good. I can’t tell if she is being her usual lazy self or isn’t feeling well, I would say that my gut tells me she is not feeling well, but I know that she may be sick…so it may be and it may be just worry. She is, otherwise, seeming to be ok, she ate this morning and all that…but I am concerned about the two times she went pooh this morning…that is not normal for her, at least not as far as having the same large piles of it. If it had been less stool, then yeah I would think it was ok, but the fact is that it was a normal size pile both times….just a little less…solid. Thing is, today marks one day shy of a week for her exposure to Parvo, they say a week to 14 days for signs of it….I just hope that if she does have it, that I am seeing the signs now, we have better chances this way.

 

 I am really worried about her…I know our chances of saving her look good, but after watching a dog go through this and dying already I can’t say that I am optimistic about it. I am hoping and praying that she is fine…that we will walk away from this still having a dog, this dog, to grow up with my son, to be my daily companion, my walking buddy.

 

I know that some people think of dogs as “just dogs”, or simply creatures to bow at their feet…but I think of them as family. I know the difference, don’t get me wrong, between dogs and people and who is more significant…if my son was in danger and it was the dog or my son ….without thought I would go for my son first and hope that we can save the dog! But no matter, my dog does mean a great deal to me and right now she is the only one in danger.

 

Right now all I can do is hope and pray that Leia doesn’t have it and that if she does we catch it in time to save her life. I can’t go through what I did yesterday again….and not with my own dog, it was hard enough with someone else’s. So worried that even my body feels it! I  am still sore from yesterday…well in part anyway. My whole body aches today (even waking in the night with cramps in my legs), I have had a sore back since Saturday but after yesterday I am really hurting bad, I need to go back to sleep and I need to find out what is, if anything, going on with my baby dog and then follow the next steps after that. So much, I know that somewhere someone is thinking “Don’t think about it, don’t worry” but it is hard to NOT think about it especially when you are waiting for answers, especially when you have seen what it can do and know that it may happen again. So please don’t tell me to not worry, and to not think about it. Besides, people always say that and no one, ever NOT thinks about the issues at hand! If you can do that I solute you!

 

Anyway Let this be a word of warning to any who slack on getting their animals vaccinated fully…you never think it will happen to your dog, think that it is ok to wait or put off the shots (even the second set), but it isn’t. You never know who else thought that then came around you and your baby with a sick animal, or what they are sniffing up their noses when they are exploring on your daily walks, or even in your own back yard! I don’t mean to sound like an activist or anything but please make sure to get your animals the proper care…I made a mistake and someone else made one that has killed one dog and put two more at risk. I just think about how if The little dog who died had not gotten sick this week, that we had not known what signs and what of, that we could very well have lost our dog without ever knowing why really…we may still if our efforts don’t do much, as that can happen. Parvo can be survived, but it is never a guarantee that it will.

 

What I learned this week to look for….Vomiting, diarrhea, lack of eating and drinking, animal being lethargic. It started with vomiting, lack of eating (I thought due to the vomiting) got better, then got bad and then worse and finally ended on a very sad note. If your dog(any animal really) has even ONE of the symptoms it is a good idea to find out why and fast…let the vets know if there has been a lack of vaccinations it could save your animals life. Another thing to think about…the clean up, We have had to go through the house and clean all the carpets where the little dog had been, we can’t let the two animals in the yard or on our deck…anywhere that the dog touched we have had to clean with BLEACH to try and kill this nasty virus…and it may have been fruitless to do so if my puppy is infected. Parvo can stay in your yard for up to a YEAR! Think about THAT! If you just moved into a house, got a dog and keep putting off shots…they could get infected just from going outside in your back yard….that goes for anyone really…how many strays are out there? A lot and God only knows which ones have something. Better safe then sorry….sorry really bites, and I am extremely sorry that I didn’t do what I should have, or asked more questions before watching someone’s pet for them!  

Knowledge is power...look it up!

Parovirus

Once again a member of my family is suffering from food poisoning! My son has had it twice and now my husband as of last night! The only common thing...one certain fast food joint with a red haired clown promoting the food! All three cases have been confirmed the only possible place they were gotten was MD's!  Chicken sandwiches and nugets being the food of choice.....this is going to be the last time we eat there!

I just find it rediculous that this has happened 3 TIMES from the same food chain! Not EVEN the same locations! What does that say about them? High Point, and 2 different spots in Winston Salem. I just have to wonder who else has been subjected to this? How many others have suffered...if it can happen 3 times to one family over the course of a year ..it is bond to have spread a lot farther then us. I can also tell you that many many years ago my sister got hepitis from working there....in another state.

What can we do about it? Probably nothing...I am just afraid that someone is going to get it a lot worse and who knows what then! Maybe I am freakin over nothing....but 3 times???? Like I said....we are done with McChicken. No one in my family is going to get anything else from that place!

 

So I heard that they had a news report on Fox 8 on a scam that could be the same as what we have been dealing with, I would like to see this story, I managed to miss it last night, so if it is somewhere on the site SEND ME THE LINK PLEASE!!! I couldn't find it! Thanks!!!

Ok so, I hate to say it but my Grandmother has been sucked so far into a scam that she believes the scammer over her own family! We know for a fact that this is a scam, a mixture of common sense, news reports and simple research into it has made the family's case solid. Yet she still insists on going along with the scammers claiming that it is for real.

For the past few months she has been told that her winnings are in a bank account over seas and in order to get the money she had to send in x amount of dollars to retrieve it... months later it is still in an over seas account and now a different country! THey continue to ask for thousands of dollars that will supposedly release this money to her!(how is it that it got moved if they couldn't release it?SCAM!) She has already given enough that she could probably have bought a new car with! Now she has gotten so far into it that she is barrowing money from other family members, who believe this as well, to pay these fees!

I believe the name of the "contest" she won was the International Lotery. It was something that came through her Email to inform her that she won. I am at a loss as to what to do to stop her! I know this is a scam, minus a few people everyone knows it is a scam! This scam conflict has caused issues between her and other family members to a very bad point.It is so bad that she has lied to the family telling them she wasn't doing it any longer only for us to find out that she NEVER stopped! I just don't know what to do to help and I really want to see these people behind bars or at the very least shut down. Problem is, is how do we even know that they are telling ANY truth? like their name and location... they are probably not, so catching them is most likly impossible. SO what do I do?

I am so worried about my grandmother because she was broke and in debt before the scam started. Hope of getting money caused her to persue this and caused her to give up what little money she did have and to barrow from others! She is headed to finacial ruin if she is not already there.

I don't think that there is anything that can be done for her, and she will never see this money that she "won" or any money that she has sent to these people. If there is something I can do please tell me!!!

I would also like to add that if you get any emails saying you have won this or that... anything that wants bank account information... or that you owe for something... DON"T DO ANYTHING!!! If it is bank related I would say call your bank or go in and talk to them to confirm it. I actually got a email from "my bank" stating that they needed to up date my information.. I didn't do anything with it because well.. my bank does not have my email adress! I later got the EXACT same email with the name of a different bank that I wasn't even associated with!!! I also recieved an email from a UK lotery, that I never signed up for! SO how could I have won?

PLEASE PLEASE help stop these scammers by NOT paying them any attention and reporting them if possible. They will ruin you and they are good at their lies!!!! ALWAYS check the background on these things if in fact you did sign up for something.. of course most of Online contests ARE scams and you should not do them!!! I am not an expert on this stuff but I know what comes through my email and what I have seen online.. not to mention this whole thing with my grandmother.

DoN"T GET SUCKED IN!!!