You are welcome and sorry I could not give you what you hoped for. Fact is you have a puppy, they chew everything in site, and Orleander is toxic (fatal in moderate doses), especially the flowers and leaves. Try these tips: Raise the canopy beyond puppies reach so he cannot have direct access to leaves and flowers. Have a hose or sprayer ready so when puppy shows interest in the offense, spray him and say NOOOOOOO! Be the Pack Leader of your dog and family. Set firm rules which are not negotiable. The dog has to know who is BOSS with no questions asked.

SO, there was no word from Mr. Appliance today AND Miele was also unable to reach him ??? Did they not offer to put you on their in house guy's sched. at that point ? Do not disagree with you about EXPECTING a working DW - floor model or not. However, you didn't get that and there is no going back to square one. It's like a wrecked car - it's not EVER going to be unwrecked. You chose to pursue a remedy and that's what has turned into a fiasco! I'm not convinced that if you had gone in on the 9th ( which makes it only 20 days, not a month) that FL Builders wouldn't have stonewalled you then too. Perhaps they would have convinced you to have it repaired and they would have sent their "guy" who just may have been from your favorite: new york minute - then how much agro would you be writing about. Additionally, your first contact with the actual manufacturer who underwrites the warranty was on the 15th or 16th making it 5-7 business days depending on how you count em. Now 7 days doesn't exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy but it's not an eternity either. I'm more concerned @ MR. Appliance going AWOL and Miele's inability to get movement. The svc. cntr. is still open the left coast crowd - maybe another call to them for an explanation @ Mr. App. at least. Maybe they'd bump you up their guy's list - though the person to make that happen won't be in until tomorrow on the East Coast. "What silly things have I done? " Not exactly silly , but going back to the unhelpful , and stonewalling dealer to expedite the repair and alter the terms of the deal ( xtended warranty refund ) was not your finest moment. I understand you wanting to be rid of this mess, and I hope you can get you $$$ quickly - but prepare yourself for another battle with FL. B and your cc co. If it (battle) doesn't happen, great - but you'll drink less and have fewer grey hairs if in fact it shakes out that way. Remember the dealer experience when they wanted your $$$ - think about how they'll act when asked to give it back to you ! Be sure to get EVERYTHING IN WRITHING from the dealer when returning the DW.

Thanks, colombusguy! I had considered purchasing online, but hadn't looked for it yet. I checked the link, that's really cool. I was concerned about buying online, only because it seems like color matching could be tricky - as viewed on one monitor, another, or phone. :-) I did finally realize that there are 2 applications on this floor. The VERY dark (& thick) layer of almost black shellac was applied over a lighter more-red tint. Both are worn away from the center, but 1 clue was the "pits & gouges" in even the worn areas are the dark color. Here's an example, see the rather large (& deep) dark pit? Oh, yeah... What's that light spot? Proof that shellac takes more time to dry than I thought. I'd have sworn it WAS dry, there.. Supported my weight on my hand so I could reach just a bit more floor with cloth without crawling on my floor-abused knees again, and... ...I "veneered myself". Picture subtitle, "Um, can anyone identify this wood species?". The worst part, seriously, is the quarter-size chunk of floor & finish gone. I was devastated. I crack jokes at gosh-all, but this raw spot still has me heart-sick. One thing to blend a worn finish over another, but this is different. So, now I'm thinking about removing more of the dark layer & matching the inside of cupboard doors as best I can, (another clue) - & applying it to the floor as well. (Maybe "drag" some of the black into bald spot first.. I'm tempted to leave the dings & divet's dark anyway, for character & to not have it look like I'm trying to make it look new & hide the symptoms of age. It certainly seems flake is the way to go, or you have a choice of - what, 3 shades? More affordable, too, which is a factor. Right now, more than usual. Surprise fiasco's... watch out. They travel in packs - especially in an old house. (Getting excited about finally starting that project you've wanted to do for years? A sure sign that something is getting ready to gush or sneaky-leak water, explode, or crack, unexpectedly). Yet, we love them - in a way our "fancy new house" friends & family will never feel about their temporary buildings.

One of the "older" dogs I've had came to me sort of like Summer's Pokey. He was a huge English style Lab. The people had 3 of them, a older female (the mom) and 2 younger (1 male/1 female). They were losing their farm and moving to an apartment. Obviously, 3 large adult dogs couldn't all come along. They were keeping the old one, thinking she didn't have more than a year or two left and felt it was unfair to ask anyone to adopt her. I had my choice of the other two. They asked absolutely no questions and though I tried multiple times, I was never able to reach them to let them know how happy the dog and I were together.