I'm so sorry about your Mandy. The only experiences I can share involve my parents' two dogs that were adopted together (they weren't litter mates but were raised together from the time they were puppies) They adored each other. In April the male passed away and the female (they were 12) was devastated. She just wasn't herself anymore. She didn't cry or whine, but laid around the house and just slept and wasn't interested in anything. My parents had two other dogs at the time that were both under two years old so they were still in the puppy stage. Both dogs loved their "big sis" but because they were rowdy puppies that always wanted to play they annoyed her to no end. Also since the puppies were always in your face wanting attention the older girl didn't get as much attention. She just went downhill from there and she passed away in august. She was spoiled rotten in the end though (when my parents realized she wasn't doing well they took her for walks all the time and lavished her with attention and she loved that) I think that getting a puppy might be a bad idea because it might make your older dog jealous of all the attention a new puppy receives. I agree with the others that getting an older dog is probably the way to go. Good luck and I hope your dog is ok.

Sorry but the date inside the unit on the front panel of the brain said 2002, it was written with a magic marker. Then the one on the top of the panel of the brain said 2007, that one was stamped into the metal. We only noticed that when the repair man came out the first time. We trusted the sales person that it was a 2 yr old model. In terms of the bill of sale, it says they give a 3 month grace period before they start charging for service calls. We have decided to upgrade and pay more money to them for a brand new unit. Kelly-Craigs List sells scrap. If it's free, it aint worth it. Yes I do have the opportunity to tell them to keep fixing it but if they cant fix the leaks after their 3rd visit, I'm not sure i want the spa. The new unit the offer is 800$ less than we can find it at the other spa stores so they are stepping up the plate to rectify the situation. We compared to quotes to see if they are really trying to work with us and it seems they are. We realize we bought 'as is' no matter what the savvy salesperson told me to our face. It's too bad becuase the unit is gorgeous--it looks brand new but when you see the dates inside the skirt, then you want to scratch your head.

Ashley, Thank you. I need all the prayers I can get right now. My DIL is too much.. like having a room full of crazy BM's! I am wondering if she has multiple personalities. On Saturday, she accused me of wanting to take DGS so I can have a baby of my own... and when I point blank asked her if she wants him back full time, she said no. She says she can't have a baby full time "at this point" in her life. I mean she flipped from me stealing the baby to saying she can't possibly handle him full time. I was at work and while I was with a customer, she walked out taking DGS with her. By the agreement, she is supposed to have Saturday & Sunday. Well, Sunday she didn't call or bring him back. On Monday, I talked to my son and he told me what she said to him... everything was twisted. He is upset & does not need to be bothered with worrying about this. He has a job to do over there, he should not have to have her telling him to tell me anything. She can tell me herself, but she tells him & he is frustrated because he is over there and can't do anything. So, Tuesday she calls my daughter to ask for diapers. My daughter takes her diapers & DGS had been taken back to the doctor. I called the doctor's office & was told DGS has an ear infection, but is otherwise okay. So, Tuesday evening, I ask her if she is going to stick to the agreement... she says no, he is staying with her. So, I tell her that I still want a drug test & I had talked to my attorney about guardianship. She told me to bring it on and she would pass a drug test. I told her if she takes a drug test and passes, I will drop everything and she can keep DGS full time. (lol, even though she ranted for ten minutes on Saturday on how that was impossible!) She didn't answer me. Then today (Wed) she sent me a text at 5pm, telling me my son wanted us to talk. (my son told me on Monday that he told her to have a talk with me) but I did not write back. Less than an hour later, she called me at work & said she had DGS outside & I need to get him. I wasn't shocked but I was in the middle of working... it's a very busy weekend coming up & normally I leave work at 5, it was 6 & I had planned to stay til about 8. I hesitated and she says "well you do want him don't you.. this is what you want, right?" And, I could not say no to taking him. She said she was going to go ahead & stick to our prior agreement. I went outside & there he was... dried boogers on his face, gunk dried on his eye, his little eyes were red and he looked pathetic. She handed him to me without a word & huffed back to her car. She was visibly angry, like I just forced her to give up her child. I took him inside & then noticed he had a fever. I called her and asked when he had last taken medicine. In a very friendly tone, tells me oops I forgot to give you his medicine, I'll be right there. She came inside & this time (mind you, this was about fifteen minutes after she huffed off) she was being sweet & bubbly.. like we were besties. She said she took a video of him taking a few steps and she couldn't wait to show me but she forgot it at home. It was WEIRD. Like a totally different person. So, I cleaned up and brought DGS home, gave him fever reducer & a bottle. He took a nap and woke up in the evening... we played, he ate, and he went back to sleep. I may finally sleep easier knowing he is here. But, I know she only did this because she wanted to go somewhere tonight. I have to take it one day at a time, because the next time I see or hear from her, I don't know what I'll get.

**UPDATE** So, I stuck to it and don't give in. Although, it was very hard when my 4 & 3 year old were begging him not to leave them, it was heart breaking. I can't believe that this is what he has chosen. He left his family that adores him for a kid that openly admits he doesn't like him. WTF? Anyway, I'm in the middle of changing the licks yesterday and I got a text message. Guess who it was from...the step son! He sent a really long text talking about he knows I hate him and he doesn't understand why, he's sorry for everything, and suddenly he loves everyone. I felt like crap!!! Then, I started to think... He didn't get on the plane. He's still at home. My husband didn't have time to get to the airport and he should have landed. In this case, I didn't feel so crappy. I realized he was just saying what he needed to say to get his way. Right?!? I feel like I'm in the dealing twilight zone. It doesn't matter, my husband is gone and he still managed to cause this whole thing.