A couple of years back our dog was stiff and sore to the point where he couldn't even shake his head. His neck was obviously sore, and we assumed that he had strained or sprained something. Our vet noted that his teeth were plaque-covered, and his gums were slightly inflamed, and said that bacteria from the teeth could get into the bloodstream and cause inflammation and pain elsewhere after a round of antibiotics and pain relievers he was feeling better, and we took him to a friend who was a animal dental specialist who did a thorough cleaning, but he said that some of his teeth were bad enough that they needed to be pulled. After that our dog seemed better and back to his usual happy self for a couple more years. I have no idea whether this could be that case for your little guy, but your description sounds similar. Good luck, I hope he feels better.

I am so very sorry to read that you have been victimized by this lady. In addition to the horrible stress you are under, there a lot of things to try to accomplish. Try to 'work' with this lady the best you can to get your full money back (vet fees, pet cost and shipping) without the expense of collection/court, etc. A letter from your attorney may assist you with this. If she still doesn't cooperate, I would file a complaint immediately with the Attorney General's office. She will get a photocopy of the complaint and it may very well help you. If she's sending you a full refund, then wait and file the complaint after. If you only get a partial refund, request the balance on your Attorney General form. (It's a very easy form to complete, don't feel intimidated). I'm dealing with the nightmares of the court system right now. Try to avoid this. I know that you don't want this dog (and you probably feel bad for saying so)! But the reality is you got intentionally dumped on with a huge situation you were not prepared for or agreed to. There ARE people willing and able to care for a pet that requires health assistance. That being said, if there is any possibility of you re-homing the animal, then please take on the extra burden and try to find him a home. She may very well not want to pay to ship the dog back. I would rather see him go to a home then back to her for re-homing again :( If this hasn't been a nightmare enough for you, please, please, please file complaints with anyone that will listen. I was under the GROSS misconception that if I reported my own incident to these agencies that things get taken care of. It doesn't work that way. They need multiple complaints. You would be shocked at the number of people that DON'T file a complaint. As a result, these people continue to operate and we continue to be victimized. It's heart wrenching for the unsuspecting adopters and shameful to those that sit in silence. If we don't speak out loudly on each and every instance as group, the perpetrators will continue indefinitely. Look at your dog's condition and what was done to you. I find it hard to believe you are the only one this woman is doing this to. In addition to the other organizations mentioned, I would suggest you contact the ASPCA. Give them your factual situation and all of this person's information. They will be able to determine if she actually works for the rescue. They reference "rescues" as well as breeders. The legitimate rescues I'm aware of would never operate in such a fashion. If you look on their website, you can see some information on "bait and switch" under "puppy mill scams" and they also have a link to report false advertising to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. False advertising is a federal offense. For whatever it's worth, if you fall into this category then report it. Keep all of your documentation about the advertising. If you haven't printed it out and can't find it anywhere on the web, double check on the "Wayback Machine" (internet archive). I found that there is more recourse under 'fraud' than the sub-standard puppy mill laws. Again, I'm very sorry this was done to you. It's an exhausting, sad situation. Do the most you can to prevent this from happening to someone else. Here is a link that might be useful: ASPCA

Those are very nice chairs, ML. I agree that they could go in the living room as easily as the dining room. I like the wavy "x" legs, especially. It gives them a little something extra. I have studied your diagrams and read your descriptions, finally. Ran around all day yesterday - went and got a Holter Monitor at the cardiologist's and then hit Salvation Army, where I got a sweet little bakers rack - solid metal, welded seams - for $35! Just needs a little 3M Rust Reformer. I think you have shown us the kitchen design before. I remember the sink across from the Bertazzoni, the big garden window, the baking area. I am not sure if you had the nice indentation there for the cook to have a safe zone, though. I do remember the sitting area outside the bedroom, though. It is neat to see the diagram of your home after all these years of seeing photos of little parts of it and imagining how it all fits together. The nosy neighbor, is he on the side with the clawfoot tub and your clothes closet? Is the new vestibule in the front new this time? I don't think I remember seeing that. I am also a bit surprised that you gave up on the storage/pantry units on either side of the window seats. I like your idea of base and wall cabinets with your favorite solid surface counter there, though. Does the table that you use in that space have extensions that you can use to fill the dining room if you have a large group? I am now struggling with an idea I have for my family room. We now have a nice (but huge) 1990s TV unit with the doors that slide out to shut the TV behind. Which I never do. The thing is 5 ft high, which is too high to place my gnome garden upon. I have my air plant garden up there, but it can hardly be seen. I want to ditch the furniture, get a larger wall-hung TV (old eyes can't see small print) and have a furniture piece that I can set things on and under. Craigslist had an beautiful console table for $230 that was under 2' deep at its smallest configuration that looked like a sofa table. It could be pulled out to 8' long! Yet it was only about 8" deep! I could set things on the floor underneath it, as well as on top. It did need a little restoration (it was from the 1930s), and I would not feel really comfortable putting a garden on it, as drips could happen. But since I made the entire kitchen into an island, I have no place for a table-height table, and thought I might want that option if I could ever talk DH into getting rid of the hunk o'oak that I once thought that I just had to have! I'd love to give it to someone to make into a nice play kitchen set like MamaGoose made! We could bring up dining chairs from the basement and have a sit-down meal if we wanted to. Currently, we eat at the island or sitting on family room furniture. I have a tea cart DH and I have used as a dining table, though. So I am imagining that you have the extending table that I wish I had! I hope that you are well by now, and that Marti is over her cold, too. I hear that both flu and colds are going around in Michigan, with Norovirus and RSV also hitting hard. We have been lucky, so far.

Thank you all so very much for your kind words and the heartfelt, moving stories you have shared about the animals you have loved and lost. It's SO very hard, but I wouldn't trade one minute of time I've spent with Pip or the others I've had to say goodbye to, in order not to feel the pain of their departure. Loving them is worth it all. Of course, we continue to grieve our Pip. I find myself tearing up at rather inopportune times, and DH - big, burly fellow that he is - has worn his emotions on his sleeve as well. It's good to share this together, though. We understand how this has affected us, and we've drawn close with support and kindness for one another. You really have to start finding the positive aspects of a loss, because they ARE there. We would never in a million years be able to replace Pip. He was truly one of a kind; a unique little man in a fur suit. I did find, however, that it helped my heart a little bit to peruse the adoptable animals on Petfinder. Somehow, just knowing that there are still so many out there who need loving care has done my heart good. Well ... you can probably guess where I'm heading with this. DH and I have talked and talked about the loss of Pip, about how our house just doesn't feel like "us" without four cats in residence, and the other day, DH turned to me and said, "Do you want to go ahead and bring home another little tabby cat?" Of course I do. We are scheduled to pick up from her foster family a precious little 8-month old tabby girl that we will call Posy. I'm rather terrified at the thought of having such a young one in the house again, but also there's a joy bubbling up inside of me that is helping to wash away the tears. I know we've got our job cut out for us in introducing Posy to her new home and her new companions, but we are both quite eager to get on with it. I like to think that this honors our sweet, sweet Pip. He was such a loving little soul, and if a cat could want such a thing, I do believe he would want us to open our arms and our hearts to another.