And We'll Have Fun Fun Fun...

SUMMARY: No TBird, but a few other vehicles

Backfill: date

That I can recall, I've fallen in love with only two cars in my entire life. One I was lucky enough to eventually own, and the other, never did.

But, kiddies, let's talk about the actual four-wheelers with whom I've shared my life. See Human Mom, see Human Mom drive. Drive fast, Human Mom! Not too fast!

ONE

In college, the ads for Le Cat Black caught my heart like almost no other car ever had. I mean, boys and girls I knew would talk about 'Vettes or Sting Rays (also a Corvette, but at the time, who cared?)  or TBirds or Lamborghinis.  But this car--its secret identity being a Mercury Capri--was all black with gold gold GOLD accents! The wheels, the pin striping, the fabric on the seats. Dunno, I just really wanted that car.

When I left college for a full-time job, I found a used one for sale in the paper by a young man in the military who was transferring to Germany, and it eventually came home with me! My heart filled with joy!  (Thanks to the Financial Bank of Dad, whom I paid off over a couple of years.) I washed and waxed that car by hand often, and used vinyl protectant inside. Everything was shiny! And it felt so good to drive, too. Standard (manual) transmission, on the freeway I felt like I could drive anywhere. Probably 1976 model.

This was the only photo I've found of my car. Was sure I had more.
Look closely for the gold and black and chrome in the rims.
Pinstriping starting to fade. [sad face]

TWO

Dragons live forever, but not so little cars...  Memory is blank on why it was time to replace Le Cat Black, but it clearly was, and income was good enough to afford payments on a NEW, yes NEW, car.  Looked at several similar cars by different makers--the Mitsubishi (model?) we liked but the salesman was so obnoxious that we left (with him yelling after us what idiots we were to pass up the deal and we'd never get that deal again) (you can see why we left). At Toyota, we could drive this one off the lot or we could order a black one and wait for a few months.  Opted to take this one.

I loved my 1983(? or 2) Toyota Supra! My dad used to joke (time and again, when boats came up in conversation) that if he had a sloop, he'd name it Chicken Noodle Sloop.   So now I had a  Supra. What else could I do?  License:  CKN NUDL.

New Supra! We got all the paraphenalia--bra, car cover, blah de blah.
I believe the bra ended up in the garage after maybe 2-3 years.
Difficult to put on, couldn't leave it on for washing.
Car cover probably lasted my patience less than that.

Supra (note CKN NUDL) at Yosemite.

THREE

I loved my sporty cars. Again, I don't recall any more what was going on with CKN NUDL that it was time to replace it, but a co-worker just happened to be moving to Singapore and was selling his cherry (excellent condition) Acura Legend.  A luxurious four-door sedan. My Adult Car.  At a reasonable price; financed it, and it came home with me in 1991.

Same colors as my Supra! And... now I don't remember whether it was standard transmission! How could I forget?

My luxurious adult car, right after I got it, before the custom MYOWNTM license plates
(Legend--(in) My Own Time, get it?  Most people thought it was My Own Trademark)
In front of my fabulous driveway gate--always wanted one like that, and had this one custom made from a drawing!
(Note "F", my last initial, in the middle. So cool! Loved that gate!)

The Legend was nice, did a lot of traveling, but getting to overnight agility events with 2 dogs was crowded enough (once at the end of the weekend I attracted a crowd of other agility folks wanting to see how in bejeesus I'd get all the things stacked around CKN NUDL in there. Had to pack the trunk like a jigsaw puzzle, with each piece having its specific place. Dogs on seatbelts on seats, other items packed on floors in front of seats. 

FOUR

But, yep, it had a lot of miles and was showing it, PLUS I had just gotten a THIRD DOG (Tika)! No was gone fit.  So, time for another used one, bought thru Toyota dealer and financed again.  My 2000 Toyota Sienna.

The quintessential agility and traveling car!  See what I said about The Quintessential Agility Car.

Automatic transmission; couldn't get it in standard, they didn't make 'em!

Tried to come up with a pun for Toyota Sienna or Van or Minivan
but, perhaps for the good of the world, I didn't.
Came up with about 30 possible dog and/or agility related ones.
Mutt Mover was way down in he list, but it was available.

MUTT MVR got around. This, at a dog agility trial at sunset,  about to go home.

Poor old MUTT MVR was slowly decaying--one speaker didn't work, the automatic door didn't work, the rear windows wouldn't open, things were falling off inside and outside, and then when the catalytic converter failed, I desperately wanted to get rid of it before my next smog check.  Turns out that a 17-year-old Sienna with nearly 250,000 miles on it was worth virtually nothing. I donated it to a local animal shelter (for whatever money they could get).

FIVE

But first, I needed a replacement.  Looked at things other than minivans. Looked at other brands of minivans.  I had been carrying 2-3 dogs and gear around with me for nearly 20 years by then and it was perfectly sized for that; I had traveled on my own and slept in it and it was the perfect size for that; and it had been remarkably reliable, which was good for my pocketbook AND for the long distances I traveled to sometimes remote places.  So I got--  SAME car, BRAND NEW model. Paid cash! (And there went THAT stash.)

2017 Toyota Sienna: Came in only boring colors.  The least boring was this blue.  (See Meet MUTT MVR II for details.)

Put 15,000 miles on MUTT MVR the 2nd in the first year. So much fun to drive!
Here, near Las Vegas.

THE OTHER CAR I FELL IN LOVE WITH AND WANTED BUT NEVER HAD

1970s Pontiac Firebird Trans Am , yes with the big firebird across the hood. So sleek! Could probably go 400 miles an hour and 0 to 60 in 2 seconds!  (I dreamed big.)  In sparkly blue or black.

BONUS CARS

Seen in parking lots.  Might have gone home with either one of these! Because of the color! (Well, the old Chevy because it's awesome, too.) I think the colors would've been hard to maintain, though.

MUTT MVR passes a milestone

SUMMARY: 200,000 miles! I can hardly believe it!

Here it is!

I pulled out at the Moffett Field exit, perfectly placed for the obligatory many-zeroes shot.

And, for history's sake, here are links to some previous ones:

• 150,000
• 100,000

Odd Story

SUMMARY: The missing boot.

Two weeks ago, I started working at my client's site rather than from my home office. Client has 7 floors of parking garage in each of two different buildings, each level with multiple aisles of parking. Each day that I've been there, I've parked in a different place, on a different floor.

Each floor is painted a different color and has a huge floor number painted in many places. That doesn't always help me--I have to stop and think every evening about where I left MUTT MVR that morning. First three days it was on the first floor twice and a basement floor once, all different spots. Through Wednesday of this week, I've been there 6 other times--have parked on floor 2A, 2B, 3, 4, and 5 (not in that order, of course), and also on the down ramp in the 2nd building's garage.

The point is, somewhere different every time.

OK.

Last weekend, I couldn't stand MUTT MVR's interior mess any more. You know, mess just accrues as I do agility--toss things in, haul them out, rearrange-- or hiking--toss things in, rearrange, haul them out--or just drive around--printed google maps directions, empty fast-food bags and soda cans, things I bought but haven't yet taken into the house... Try to straighten everything out every couple of months but don't always get to it.

Anyway, sick of it. Spent 4 hours Sunday rearranging the car AND the garage to better accommodate things that I regularly put into and take out of the car. Vacuumed the entire car, places I've not vacuumed in years (found more bits of broken window glass). Put everything in its place. No clutter, nothing lying around loose. Perfect.

I was at the office for long days every day, so no chance to mess things up after that, either. At the end of the day Wednesday, i was going to drive to hiking directly from the office. So, at 5 p.m., I neatly hid my computer under my neatly arranged dog gear, pulled my hiking boots out of my hiking pack, tossed them into the front seat, neatly put the pack back in its spot, and neatly pulled my black cover over everything in the back.

Drove up to Palo Alto to meet my hiking group. In the dark, fumbled around on the floor, found one boot, and put it on before even opening the car door (it was cold). Annnnnnd the other boot wasn't there. If the car had been messy, I'd have had a better reason for not finding it, but the car was beautifully clean and neat. I looked anyway. Got out my flashlight to help. Under the seats. (Not there.) Under the black cover somewhere. (Not that I could see.) In the pack in case for some reason I had a brain hiccup and didn't actually pull out both boots, except that I VERY CLEARLy this time remembered having both boots in my hand. (Not there.) Unburied the computer thinking, well, it has to be here SOMEWHERE, right? (Not there.) Everything's messy again, crap. But no boot.

Finally gave up and figured I'd go through the car again when I got home, although quite unclear as to where it could possibly be. Hiked 5 miles in my normal shoes, which fortunately turned out OK.

Raced home and got there JUST in time for a conference call, had a quick dinner, and went to bed. Didn't think about the boot.

Next morning, got up, did a little emergency billable work at home, drove the renter to the auto shop to pick up his car, continued on fairly late in the morning to the client's site. Drove around and around and around through the various aisles on the various floors, looking for a parking spot. Finally found one up on the fourth floor around 11 a.m.

Pulled in, opened the door, got out.

And there was my other boot.

Vehicle Dreamin' Jeepers Creepers

SUMMARY: MUTT MVR is back in my garage.

Got the oil changed, fluids taken care of, etc. etc. Map light now works. Brakes taken care of and in theory will no longer squeal. Dashboard light--well, they don't stock the lightbulb and would have to special order it. They played with it and said that it's now kinda working but kinda not.

They're willing to order the bulb and charge me only half the labor to open up the dashboard and put it in when it arrives. Jeez. I said I'd think about it.

The car battery failed their charging tests, which could explain why I've been having occasional problems lately starting it right up in the morning. Guess I'm glad they tested it and found that now, rather than it not starting up at all some agility morning at 4:30 a.m.

But the really big wow--$1500 to fix the rear pop-out windows: Both motors are dead and they're $500 each plus labor to open up the side panels and replace them. Ack ack ack.

Car's bluebook is probably around $3000 for trade-in or maybe $3700 if I try selling it myself. I'm SOOOO inclined to not fix those windows. Bleah.

Vehicle Dreamin'

SUMMARY: Repairs for another aging family member.

I said Sunday night that I was takin' MUTT MVR in for a checkup and that we'd go for a long walk, too.

MUTT MVR's brakes have been squealing for quite some time. Makes my ears hurt. A little embarrassing in public, like when inching one's way down a freeway entrance ramp under the control of metering lights. Plus one of the map lights, one of the dashboard lights, and the rear pop-out windows one-by-one stopped working. And we're due for an oil change. (6,000 miles per mfg recommendation; I've added no oil, down not even a quart, amazing at any age, but particularly this age.)

Pop-out windows in particular are an issue when I have dogs in the car and want cross-ventilation. They work only electrically. Which is too bad right now, because it's expensive to diagnose and, I fear, will be expensive to fix because they have to open up the side walls, and dagnabit I didn't think to take the crates out of the back. Oh, well, that might mean another trip in the future.

Dropped MM off bright and early, then the Merle Girls and I walked home in the cool morning air, a bit over 2 miles.

Starting to ponder:

• It would be really cool to have a still-healthy car go over 200,000 miles--I've never come this close before.  That would be about 2 more years. 
• If small things are starting to go wrong, will I end up putting more money into fixing than I would into a new car?
• Should I spend the money to get the damaged front corner fixed, or save it for an eventual newer vehicle? Would the cost to fix it come back in bluebook value, and do I care?
• Should I get a second, small, high-MPG car for tooling around town with just myself? If so, rent or lease?
• If I replaced MUTT MVR, would I replace it with a later model of the same thing?

These are very early ponderings.

Sunday at Agility On The Green

SUMMARY: And another agility weekend goes by.

From our running order for the whole weekend: One of these things is not like the others:

Today often felt more like a handler having a bad weekend than the dogs doing so. Both dogs ran nicely, looked healthy and happy and eager to run, although, yep, Tika can't match the speed of so many other dogs in 22" performance now.

Tika:

• Steeplechase Round 2: It had 2 sets of weaves. We can't compete on time with that these days. Placed 4th of 5, all of us running clean. Brought home $7 for it.
• Standard: Ran nicely, got all her contacts, kept all her bars up, went down pretty quickly on the table for a change--and 4 obstacles before the end, I sent her into a tunnel under an Aframe that I thought was a gimmee, but apparently she wasn't convinced because she pulled off it and jumped onto the Aframe from the side for an off course. 100% handler issue (although I don't think I'd have had that issue if she wasn't checking in with so much as she's doing now).
• Grand Prix: A killer of a course, very few dogs Qualified. She ran nicely and clean, although much slower than many of the dogs. However--out of ten  22" dogs, only two of us Qed, giving her 2nd place. 
• Jumpers: A pretty smooth run, although I was late on a couple of front crosses, slowing her down a little. Qed but placed only 5th of 8 dogs. Our time of 25.82 wasn't *horribly* behind the winning time of 22.97... but, well, 3 seconds, that's more than 10% slower. Ah, me.

Boost:

• Standard: A challenging course and there was one spot where dogs needed to make a sharp turn but instead were shooting ahead for an off course or not turning tightly enough and running past the jump. I vowed that we would not make yesterday's Jumpers mistake, where I knew it would be an issue and still couldn't fix it. So--yes, indeed, I came to a dead stop, did an RFP (reverse flow pivot--aka fake front cross), and yelled her name--and, yes, indeed, I managed to catch her and bring her in over the jump, but I think I was in her way, because she knocked the bar. The rest of the run was flawless. Another one of those "just ONE thing wrong!" courses.
• Gamblers: Almost perfect opening, but a bobble going into a tunnel--pretty sure it was a handling thing although I didn't review the video--cost us 2 points and the highest of all opening scores. Still, once again, I believe we were tied for 2nd highest of all. The gamble--I was rushed, didn't make sure Boost had a good approach line, and we weren't even close on a gamble that I think lots of people got. 
• Grand Prix: The wheels on our agility train started wobbling--she had to make about a 30-degree adjustment in her path to come in to the weaves that I was running at and yelling Weave!, and she had at least 20 feet in which to do it, but she just ran completely past them on the opposite side from me. Later, she went offcourse where tons of other dogs had gone offcourse--the strategy that worked for Tika didn't work for her.  Most of the rest was nice, though.
• Jumpers. After Tika's run, I was determined not to be late on my front crosses. But-- the wheels came off completely.

So--4 Qs out of 10 for Tika plus $7 Steeplechase winnings and a 2nd in Grand Prix. Real pity about not getting Snookers, though, so that PDCH-Gold is still aching for 3 more of them. Down to only 38 more needed for her Lifetime Platinum.  (As of mid-June, only 96 dogs have ever achieved that. Peer pressure is omnipresent when 20 of them are people/dogs you know and have regularly competed against--you know,  as Janis Joplin sang,

"Oh, lord, won't you buy me an L.A.A. Platinum?
My friends have all got one, I must raise a hat to them..." )

One Q out of 11 for Boost--the win in Pairs yesterday. She didn't even win anything in the worker raffle this weekend.

Tomorrow we'll go for a long walk to drown our sorrows and get MUTT MVR's brakes and rear windows checked.

USDAA Trial Coming Up

SUMMARY: More stats for this weekend's Woodland trial than you can shake a jump bar at.

• Driving distance one way: 120 miles (193 km)
• Driving time one way (est.): 2 hrs 5 mins
• Gas cost yesterday: $4.09/gal ($1.08/lit ... did I do that right? By what measure do non-USers buy gas?)
• MUTT MVR's average MPG for the last 3 months: 22.
• Bridge tolls paid using Fastrak: $5 (northbound only)
• Extra miles I could drive to avoid a bridge toll: 30
• Amazing toll that people pulling a trailer will pay starting July 1:  $15 for one axle, $20 for 2. (Guess that's a good reason to buy a gas-guzzling motorhome instead. Stupid.)
• Maximum freeway speed between here and there: 65 MPH (104 KPH) (or 70 the longer  route).
• Maximum if you're pulling a trailer: 55. (Another reason to buy a motorhome instead.)
• Average top speed by personal observation:  70 MPH.
• Average top speed of people pulling trailers by personal observation: 70 MPH.
• Event starting time: 7:45 briefings and walkthroughs; 8:00 first dog on the line.
• Ending time (est): Sat, 5:00; Sun, 3:00
• Set-up time required (canopy & crating, etc., walk the dogs...): 40 minutes.
• Time to set on my alarm clock for Saturday morning: 4:20 a.m.
• Forecast high temperatures: Saturday 99 (37.2 C), Sunday 99-106
• Total runs for the weekend: 945 in 2 rings (this makes it a medium-ish USDAA trial for around here)
• Dogs entered: 138. Includes 67  border collies, 17 australian shepherds, 14 mixed breeds (including one Craussie--yay, Tika!)
• Older dogs competing: One 14-year-old JRT, one 12-year old Cocker, and three 11-year olds (including one Craussie).
• Humans entered: 98.
• Percentage of humans handling two dogs: 25%
• Percentage handling 3 or 4 dogs: 7%
• Most common dog names (2 each): Charlie, Lily, Neo, Pete
• Runs I entered with my dogs: 20 (10 each)
• Entry fees for one dog in all classes:  $144 ($148 C).
• Work I will do all weekend to reduce my entry fees: Score table chief.
• Classes I might not run Tika in: Gamblers (because her Q rate is so low), Grand Prix (because 6 runs/day with her in the heat is now probably too much)
• Qs needed for titles for Tika:
  
  • Standard: 1 for Gold (35 performance Qs); chances this weekend: 2
  • Snooker: 4 for Gold; chances this weekend: 2
  • LAA-Platinum: 53 of any kind; chances this weekend: up to 10 (I sincerely doubt now that we'll get there, or that she'll still be competing at age 12. We'll see how the year winds down...)
• Qs needed for titles for Boost:
  
  • For ADCH (stop me if you've heard this before): one Jumpers and two Snooker Super-Qs; chances this weekend: 2 each
  • Gamblers: 1 for Bronze (15 Qs); chances this weekend: 1
• Where I will sleep: In  MUTT MVR at the fairgrounds.
• What I usually have for breakfast: A banana and a high-protein breakfast bar.
• What I will be hyper aware of this weekend after Elicia Calhoun's disaster (will post more about that eventually):
  
  This, from the "Live to run again" foundation, is on my driver's-side window:
  
  

More Miscellany

SUMMARY: Shoes, class, serpentines, spring, flowers, wind...

Because most of our class this week is off in Reno for the AKC Nationals, there were only three of us in attendance. So I ran both Merle Girls every run. And we got more runs in, or at least more detailed work on each of the runs, because there were only 4 dogs instead of 7 or 8 or so.

You know some people say, "I don't know which dog I'll be running" when referring to a single dog? Like I used to with Remington--the fast, eager dog, or the turned off dog? Well, my dogs I think don't know what handler they're going to get. Sometimes I poop out in class just running the normal number of runs with the equivalent of only one dog. Sometimes I can run both dogs a whole lot more and still feel like I'm moving and [relatively] agile. That's how I felt tonight. I dunno why. It can vary not only from week to week, but day to day.

Boost still can't do straight-on serpentines, even though we worked on them some this week. We talked in class a little bit about starting from square one, which was a good review. Now I have 6 days in which to fix it before the 4-dayer. Heh. Well, we'll work on it.

Tika started fast and excited, but slowed down fairly quickly, and, yes, is not doing some things that in the old days I could always count on her to do. And then, poof!, just like that, she's running and then she's sniffing the ground with a little displacement/stress action going on. Ah, well, learning to handle "which dog do I have" with Tika is such a change from her normal consistent self through most of her agility career.

I wore my brand-new, actually *shiny* shoes in class tonight.

You think it was time?

I dunno, those Ditas and an identical pair lasted me collectively at least 10 years. That was large amounts of money well spent. If this new 40-buck pair from Big 5 lasts me half as long, I'll be happy.

Meanwhile, speaking of shopping, you really should never let me into the garden center when spring's around the corner. I'm just sayin'.

Although, whoa, I'm rethinking how to decorate my dog's crates in MUTTMVR. This looks pretty good!

But spring is fickle this time of year--March is trying hard to circumvent those old saws and go OUT like a lion:

And speaking of lions--it's not every auto body shop (getting estimates on fixing MUTT MVR's owie) whose lobby contains two life-sized lion guardians.

Roar.

Cold, Wet, Fun Weekend

SUMMARY: I do like CPE and hanging out with my friends. Rain and cold, not so much.

My evil plan for the weekend was to earn first places in everything with both dogs and to have the fastest and/or highest-scoring points of everyone who ran the same course regardless of height or level.

After three of the four Saturday classes, things were looking pretty good on all counts.*

* Colors: Out of 59 dogs on the same course, Boost's time of 13.71 was the fastest, Tika's 14.17 was 2nd fastest; one dog came close at 14.66 but the next closest was 15.83 and most were 19 seconds or slower.

Wildcard: Out of 64 dogs on the same course, boost's 17.11 was fastest, Tika's 18.51 was 2nd fastest, and the next closest was 19.28.

Standard: out of 64 dogs on the same course, Boost's 34.92 was second fastest (I held her on the contacts to be sure she got them), with the faster dog at 32.65. Tika was 4th fastest at 36.22 with the intervening dog at 36.01.

Didn't end up quite as perfect, but I'll talk about that tomorrow.

The weather had called for rain showers on Saturday. This is what it looked like--All. Day. Saturday.

(Funny note: At the Motel 6, we had to fill out the usual registration form asking for our car's license. I put MUTT MVR. The clerk looked at it and said, "Could you please put your license number? It's important that we have that information in case we need to contact you about your vehicle."

"That is my license," said I. "I mean," he said, "the number on your car's license plate." "That IS my license plate," I said. "It's a personalized plate." He looked at it and looked at it. "I've never seen a license like that before." Interesting--do people who can afford personalized plates stay somewhere other than at Motel 6? But, as usual, I digress--)

If there were separate rain showers, each pretty much began as the last one faded. Dreary. Discouraging. This Human Mom was not interested in tossing the frisbee for the poor Merle Girls in the swampy grass field; not even thrilled about taking them out of the [fortunately] covered arena for potty times.

And it was cold, too. Thank goodness for fingerless lined gloves to enable my score-tabling activities.

And the calf-length down-filled grotesquely purple coat.

But O.M.G. this huge container of the best home-made toffee in the universe ruined my other usual evil plan to lose 5 lbs over the weekend. (Thanks, Gwen! (Take that both ways.))

The rain did break gradually on Sunday, so when the competition had completed and we were packed and ready to go home, out we went into the now-sunny swamp.

It's 5 hours later and both dogs are still damp and encaked with mud (despite my best attempts to hose them down at the site). Gah. But they seemed to have fun, and that's what the weekend was all about. (And Tika showed no signs of soreness or age! Yowza!)

I had fun, too, hanging out with friends, joking, enjoying people's successes (yes, including my own), running my dogs full out with their enthusiasm overflowing. Enjoyed myself enough so that I'm thinking [perhaps in a deranged, sleep-deprived, toffee-overdosed haze] about once again chairing a CPE trial so that we can once again have one that is more local. Will have to decide in the next couple of days about that. It might be just one too many evil plans for my own good.

Milestones--literally

SUMMARY: Odometer, gas prices

Since we went two weeks without agility class or agility of any kind, maybe I'm not driving as much. Although I am doing a little commuting lately.

Thursday sometime, MUTT MVR went past this nice round milestone, and I wasn't doing anything related to dogs, unlike most other significant odometerifications.

It's been two whole weeks since I've needed to buy gas. Back then, at the discount station nearby, I was shocked--shocked!-- to see what prices had gone up to:

Yesterday--same station, 14 days later, brand new shock:

Those drives out to agility trials are looking less and less appealing again.  And bad timing for me to decide that commuting to my client's site instead of mostly working at home is a good idea. Ah, well.

MUTT MOVER Owie

SUMMARY: [insert your favorite sad frowny face here]

Part 1 of Packing for an Agility Weekend, Then and Now

SUMMARY: First in a series comparing my 1996 gear to my 2010 gear, and transitions between.

I got to thinking about all the Dog Stuff that I now own, carry around with me without thinking about it, and/or load into the car routinely, that back in 1995 I'd never thought about that, in 1996 when I attended my first competitions, looked entirely different from what it looks like now.

My list of topics is so long, I think I'll break it into several posts over the next few days. This is Part 1. This could be a continuing series as I think of things I've got now but didn't then, had then but don't know, or tried in between and abandoned.

Dogs:

• Then--Just one, Remington, my pet dog who made a decent agility dog some of the time.
• Now--Two dogs (Tika and Boost), both obtained specifically with agility in mind.

Vehicle:

• Then--My grown-up luxury sedan, my four-door Acura Legend. I got an amazing amount of stuff into it, but when I decided I wanted a 3rd dog and a canopy, it was right out.
• Now--Minivan, MUTT MVR. I bought it for only one reason: Hauling dogs and their gear around.

Dogs in vehicle:

• Then--Rem sat in the front seat and watched the world go by. After a year or so of that, I bought seatbelt harnesses at the SPCA. They proved to be pretty flimsy, in retrospect. When I read friend Holly's post on good harnesses, I bought two sturdy ones (for Rem and Jake at that time).
• Now--When I got my 3rd dog (Tika) and my minivan, she began riding in a crate right away. Jake and Rem continued using their harnesses until they passed away. Boost and Tika now both have their own crates strapped into MUTT MVR.

Hauling stuff to and from the vehicle:

• Then--We had a red metal dolly that could convert from a furniture-moving upright to a 4-wheel thingie. Tiny wheels, tiny dolly, very heavy and very difficult to move across, say, gravel or grass. I scoped out what was available over several years.I love the huge metal carts in brilliant powder-coated colors with huge wheels and folding handle, but they are huge and I don't have a lot of room, plus they are expensive. The basic wire or tubular crate-sized carts that people pull don't work well with my problem back & shoulders and the wheels aren't the best over rough terrain.
• Now--I saw the light when a friend showed up with a light-weight folding dolly with an extra-deep shelf. That was what I wanted! But also expensive. I was delighted when, at a flea market one weekend, I found a guy selling his, nearly new, for practically nothing. (Looks something like this.) Have used this for several years now.
  

Where to put the dog at the trial:

• Then--I didn't own a crate and didn't think I wanted to. At my first seminar, I planned on just putting Rem in a chair like I did in class. But when I arrived--everyone else had a crate or an x-pen! Doh! I think the instructor loaned me an x-pen and noted that my leash/chair plan wouldn't work at a trial. So I went out and bought a huge x-pen "so he could move around." It was really heavy and space-consuming in my Legend.
• Now--Each dog has her own zippered soft crate (purple, black, and teal). Each cost considerably more than the x-pen, but combined they are so much lighter and so much easier to store and move around, and the dogs are generally happier than they are in the x-pen. (Read how my dog converted me to crate use.)

Clips and bungies:

• Then--Oh, yeah, we had the usual pile of random long bungies in a box in the garage. After a couple of trials, I started taking the box with me for the trial, futzing with long bungies, then putting the box away afterwards.  I saw that people had metal clips that they used for various things, and we had a couple of old metal clips in the garage that I'd likewise borrow for the weekend.
• Now--I have a bag full of metal and plastic clips of various sizes (some even blue and purple) that I've bought through the years and stay exclusively with my dog stuff. Same thing when I discovered loop bungies: have a whole bunch of different lengths on a clip, and some straight bungies (purple) that I bought specifically to go with my dog stuff.

Over the River and Through the Woods--

SUMMARY: To agility trials we go.

My dad looked at my online weekends calendar and asked how many miles I put on MUTT MVR each year.

(I didn't point out that there are a lot of competitions that I *could* go to but don't, as exemplified by the famous Karey's Calendar.)

Because I don't have a regular commute, I always say that most of my annual mileage (12,000-15,000 miles [19,000-24,000 km]) is dog-related. But is that so?

Rough guess on dog-related miles per year:

• Vet. At least one per dog for check-up and shots. Usually at least a couple more for various reasons--pick up a prescription, medical issue, whatever.  Let's say 6/year, 17 miles round trip=about 100 miles.
• Agility class. We don't really have class once a week (holidays, rain, instructor out of town, etc.) but with extra trips to rent the field, get a private lesson, and so on, let's say 52 weeks a year. 26 miles round trip. 1350 miles.
• Competitions. In the last few years I've not gone to trials that take more than 2 hours to get to (other than Nationals). That's still at least 20 weekends a year, including occasional fun matches, seminars, and what-not. There are either the 2-hours-away trials, in which case I don't come home to sleep saturday night, or the 1-hour-away trials, in which case I do come home Saturday night. Either way, the mileage for a weekend is probably about the same. Say, 200 miles round trip. 4000 miles.
• If you throw in a trip to Nationals in Scottsdale (heh--that's not happening any more, thank goodness!), that adds another 2000 in one week. But didn't go last year, and I'm not going off to the more eastern parts, for sure.

Well, lessee, that's only 5500 miles [8850 km].

I don't go to the groomers; pet food is usually picked up on the way by the store--huh. Might make special trips here or there for dog things, but nothing immediately pops to mind. Still, that's roughly a third to a half of my annual miles.

And there you have it: The whole reason I have a minivan instead of a nice sporty or luxury car. Dog travel. That is, it is indeed a MUTT MVR.

MUTT MVR aka Swagger Wagon

SUMMARY: I never realized how cool I was for having a minivan, until now.

Thanks, Team Fernandez-Lopez, for pointing out this video.

Customer Service from Arco

SUMMARY: A divergence from dog agility for a moment.

"Get an arco debit card and connect it to your existing bank account! Save the 45 cent fee every time you buy gas!"

How cool does that sound? I mean, who doesn't love saving money? And I buy gas at Arco almost exclusively because it's cheaper than anywhere and it's nearby. I can't use a credit card, and cash is a pain, and the ATM card has a 45-cent Arco fee, but it's still cheaper per gallon than other places and I don't have to waste more time driving farther afield.

(Wait-- dog agility is the primary reason for being in MUTT MVR and for using gas, so this *is* an agility-related post. Ta-da!)

So: I take their brochure home, go to the web site, fill in a bunch of data, and finally get to the point where it tells me to provide info from my card--but wait, I don't have a card yet! That's what I'm applying for! So I have to print a copy of the page with the instructions so I can pick up where I left off when the card (presumably) arrives in the mail.

Which it does, several days later. It has a sticker on the front: "Visit the web address printed on the back of your card". There is no web address printed on the back of the card. Believe me, I read every tiny mangled fine-print word and there IS no web address there.

But there is a web address on the information sheet that came with the card, so I go there. Next, I have to go to my credit union's online site and log in and look for a one-cent transaction that the Arco card has done to make sure it's connected correctly, and get the transaction code, and write it down. Back to Arco site.

(A) I have to read an agreement to get everything online, which I don't like but I have no choice--I can LATER request to get paper copies if I want, but that's a special process. That's annoying and time-wasting but I'll have to do it at some point because I do not want to get my stuff online. Why can't they just let me choose now? Because they're hoping that most people won't bother.

(B) I fill in my name, the card's 15-digit number, the 13-digit "loyalty code" (or something like that), which isn't text that appears anywhere on the card; they have to explain that it's the numbers below the bar code on the card--do they mean to include the digit that's NOT below the barcode? Dunno, it's a zero, so hopefully it doesn't matter. And my name. And my date of birth. And the last digits of my SSN. And the transaction code from my credit union. I pick a username and a password (have to type it twice) and pick a security question and type the answer (twice) and ANOTHER security question and type the answer (twice), and then it tells me that the username is taken and try again.

(C) At least it doesn't make me retype everything. I try another username and apparently that works. Then I get a box in which to to type a PIN of my choice, surrounded by a bunch of hoohah about Java. Well--can't type into the box. So I have to read all the stuff about Java. It's a little confusing (mind you, I'm a software technical writer who's been on the technical side of computing for mumble decades--and it's a little confusing). I click some link that looks useful, and it takes me to a window that talks about Internet Explorer and Windows. I, of course, am using Firefox on a Mac. I have to browse around a bit to finally find instructions dealing with Mac.

So maybe these instructions are Sun's, not Arco's, but it tells me to open a Terminal window and click the magnifying glass. There is no magnifying glass in the Terminal window. It tells me to type something into the dialog box. There IS no dialog box, fer crying out loud, this is TERMINAL! (Like the Run window on Windows.) So I skip that, because it looks like I can go to the next step, which is to type a change directory command. I type it, and there's no such directory. I recheck the spelling and I type it again and there's still no such directory. So I can't very well follow the rest of their instructions.

So I give up on that and return to the PIN window. There's a link there to have them GIVE me a PIN instead of picking my own, and OK, I figure I can probably change it later if I want to, so I click that, and it gives me a PIN, and then it says "there was a problem with your verification, call this number." Of course it's evening, and they're only open during earlier Eastern Standard Times, so I have to wait until the next morning.

Next morning, I call. Go through about 3 levels on the phone tree, and then speak to a person who says this is the wrong phone number, let me look up the right one for you. He gives me the number and transfers me (at least I don't have to hang up and redial). I have to go through what appears to be the *same* phone tree options, at which point I actually speak to the right person.

Well, sort of.

She says, there's no sign that your verification went through, you'll have to try again. And I said I already spent plenty of time trying to get it to work online, I just want to verify it now. She said that it's impossible; they require you to do it through the web site and she apologizes for that, wishes she could help me do that.

She said that browsers other than Windows Explorer just don't work, so use Explorer. I said that I don't want to have to install software I'm not using just to verify the card. She suggested that I find a friend who has a computer with Explorer on it. I said that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard--what ever happened to calling an 800 number and getting instant verification? She said they've determined that it's more secure because of their special Java online security routines.

She continues being very apologetic--says that she has to listen to people call in all the time who can't do the verification because they don't have Windows or Explorer or can't figure out how to install the required Java or the PIN window doesn't work or whatever. She said it's broken and she thinks they tried to fix it but couldn't. She also recommended a Windows system rather than Mac because it might not work on the Mac even if I get Explorer and the right Java installed. She said, Java is always installed with Windows Explorer, so if you use a system with Explorer on it, you don't have to worry about the Java.

Oh, and she said, just before we hung up, whatever you do, don't let it pick a PIN for you, because that doesn't work and you'll have to start over. What?!?

So I get a Windows system, run Internet Explorer, go back to the web site, and it does not recognize my username and password. So I start over from scratch, retyping EVERYTHING (see (A) and (B)) and get to the PIN box--and it still doesn't work! So I follow the instructions about determining whether the correct version of Java is installed, and, guess what, the instructions don't work. So I figure out that, ah ha, Java is NOT installed at all (not simply the wrong version) on the Windows machine with Explorer, so I have to get to the right page to download and install the right version of Java (and the process for getting there isn't entirely clear), and then I have to restart Explorer.

Which I do, go to the web site, and it STILL doesn't recognize my username and password! So I have to repeat EVERYTHING in (A) and (B) and finally get to the PIN window, and, wow, it works.

So, now, between trying to follow unclear, incorrect, and incomplete instructions, having to repeat typing things I've already typed multiple times, trying to figure out what the right thing is to do, getting to a computer that will allow me to do what I need to do, calling support and going through various phone trees and filing a voice complaint about what a mess this is, downloading and installing software that I was doing fine without on every web site I've visited in the last year or so including many online purchases and online banking, FINALLY NOW I can save 45 cents each time I buy gas at Arco. Which is about 30 times a year.

Given the number of what could have been billable hours but weren't because I've spent getting it all this done (and now typing this note), I figure I'll have to use the card for about 15 years to break even.

I love saving money.

Killing Your Dog in an Auto Accident

SUMMARY: (Repost from my Facebook page) Have I mentioned why you should find a good system for securing your dog in your car?

Bay Teamer friend Holly Newman evaluated some dog seatbelt harnesses and gave good feedback here.

Now there's a german study, with photos, of what happens to dogs and humans in front-impact accidents given various means of restraint. As in: dogs seriously injured or killed, in the process seriously injuring the driver or passenger. Interesting to note that their chosen harness restraint fails in one of the ways that Holly suggests; would be interesting to know how the one she suggests for big dogs (which I purchased and use occasionally when I can't use crates)) would hold up in the same situation.

Dowload the study's PDF from this page at wachusett.pssweb.net to read it and view the photos (they used dummies so no gore); it's not very long but it's very scary. (Or you can google "test report securing pets in cars" and they usually have a "quick view" that lets you see it in HTML right in your browser, like this.

My dog's crates currently are aligned front to back, at the back of MUTT MVR. It's very convenient for me and they fit well, but I've known for a long time that that's not optimally safe. It was confirmed when i was rear-ended a year ago just after a stop sign (so fairly low speed) and the rear door was jammed shut. Fortunately the dogs weren't in the car at the time, so I didn't have to try to extricate the crates from inside the van.

I'm now going to have to figure out how to arrange them transversely (perpendicular to car's length) behind the front seats instead, for maximum security.

Cars Got Passwords?

SUMMARY: How does it know I made the last payment? Looking at my bank statement?

Paid off MUTT MVR in January. Figured I'd take it in for a check-up in early February, which was wayyy overdue. Didn't look bad at all, only >>gulp<< $900 worth of maintenance and repairs. Plus one more thing that they needed to order a part for, another $150 (including labor).

Took MUTT MVR back today to get that part installed. I walked home with the dogs--35 minutes over 2 miles including plenty of halts for reminders about pulling on the leash. Nice day for a really brisk walk, too.

The work was pretty quick, took them only a couple of hours, even with all of the recall business they're having to deal with at the moment. Their shuttle came & took me over there, I paid my bill, got into MUTT MVR. Rolled up the windows that the technician had rolled down--and--

Crunch, the passenger side window made an awful noise and just stuck halfway up. I know it's not something they did, just miserable coincidence. It made a funny noise a week or so ago when I had it open and reclosed it. That was the window broken into last May and replaced. Thought maybe a piece of broken glass was still in there and had jiggled loose, but of COURSE didn't think about it when I took it in this morning.

They managed to manhandle it closed so I can drive around without rain or pigeons coming through the window. Labor estimate to take it apart and see what's wrong--another $130. Best guess, it's the whooziewhatzer scissoring mechanism that raises and lowers the window. Bet that's not free.

How do vehicles KNOW that they're paid off?! Curses.

Life in the Agility Lane

SUMMARY: Dogs + class + car + yard + blahblahblah

For some reason, people seem to think that I'm into dogs. Go figure.

For example, my nephew gave me a lightweight fleece blanket with a picture of golden retriever (or maybe lab) puppies on it. Very nice blanket. But, see, dog stuff is not part of my *normal* life (in which I might use a blanket); it's part of my *dog* life. My house is decorated with dragons, not dog stuff. But, well, it gets cold around here with the heat turned down, so, nifty, a blanket. I take it down to my office chair to wrap around myself.

Also, here's a collection of greeting cards I've received over the last year. (Did I ever mention to anyone that I'm also known for things piratical? Apparently I did--)

Despite trying to keep my dog life and regular life separate, they all intertwine. Last night, backing out of the driveway to go to agility class, I broke off a sprinkler riser by the driveway. Eight and a half years in this house, backing out of the same driveway, and I've never touched it. Go figure.

Dogs did well in class last night. Tika's contacts were beautiful (sigh), very fast 2-on/2-off. Boost's weaves were beautiful. Boost still knocking some bars and not wanting to come in to me on serpentines. We were lucky: Tuesday classes were cancelled due to rain and it's supposed to be raining again today, so we just squeezed in Wednesday.

I'm trying to transfer out of the Wednesday night class because it's getting close to Real Hikes season with the sierra club Wednesday Night Hikers. But evening classes are very popular and at the moment there might not be any other openings. (My old Thursday night class was turned into a world-team class. Go figure there are enough people at that level around here for their own weekly class. Tough competition all the time at local trials.)

This morning the Merle Girls and I dropped off MUTT MVR at the dealer to take care of a few things. I set the alarm for 6:30 to be first in line, and the dogs were VERY excited because alarm always means going to dog agility. They were a little confused when I did a few things that I don't normally do on agility morning. (Yes, they did really look puzzled.) After dropping off the van, we walked home the two and a half miles. I remember making this walk back when i first moved here, and being exhausted at the end. Now? Piece of cake. I don't hike all that often at the moment, but when I do walk or hike, it tends to be more than a mile, so am I a studly hiker or what, doing my 2.5 completely level sidewalk walk?

At home, I'm sitting at the breakfast table, which on my split level looks down over my office, just a wrought-iron railing separating them. Tika comes over, looks through the railing, and starts growling, then when I say "What?" she goes into full offensive barking, looking down into my office. I look that way to see what evil she has detected (note that Tika is NOT Boost, who sees evil in many places, but not Tika ever). Go figure. Here's what I see:

Competitive Dog Sports -- Another Pass-Around Thang

SUMMARY: About me & my dog sports.

Found on Facebook. I'm posting here because I've answered many of these questions before and I'm just going to link to 'em. If you want to do this note on facebook and tag your dog-sport pals, copy & paste these instructions as well as the rest of the content:
Copy and paste the content below, then erase the other person's answers and put in your own. Tag as many Dog Nuts as you can think of, including the person who sent it to you as "first tag." Don't be shy to make your answers long, if need be.

NOTE: This will be a very long read if you also read the links in which I answer some questions at length. Don't you have something better to do with your time?

List the dog sports in which you compete. If you have a particular favorite please tell us, and tell us why!
Agility!

Is there anyone you'd like to thank or BLAME for getting you into competitive dog activities?
My obedience instructor started taking agility classes and recommended it to me. For my active, eager dog. Who is also clearly to blame.

Please tell the story of how you got started in dog sports. Where/when (year please, don't be shy!)/why/etc.
Remember, you asked. (First competition: January 1996.)

What is your FAVORITE thing about dog sports, and what is your LEAST FAVORITE?
One answer, from June 2009, on "why agility?"
What I hate about agility? Disappointing myself, sometimes; the expense; the amount of time it takes away from everything else in my life.

What breeds or mixes thereof do you/have you owned? Please list their name, their breed (or mix thereof) and then their BEST quality as a sport dog and their WORST quality as a sport dog.
Whoa, can you believe I've never done a post on this? (At least not that I'm finding.) This would make a good future blog post. Summary:

• Remington, Squirrelhund (Lab/Shepherd probably). Almost never dropped a bar. Loved to learn. Could be pretty fast. Extremely sensitive to my moods and shut down a lot.
• Jake, Semidachshund (sheltie mix probably, maybe beagle?). Took forever to learn anything new. But once he got it, very reliable.
• Tika, Craussie (Aussie cross, maybe Husky?). Pretty darned fast, loves doing agility, easily distracted, fights the "rules" every step of the way. 
• Boost, Border Collie. Extremely fast and driven. Loves to learn. Very focused. Wants to do agility. Light on the concepts of keeping bars up and doing weaves from beginning to end.
  

How many dog beds do you currently own and what did you pay for the most expensive one?

• Double-thick bathmats once were primary dog beds. (3 or 4, bought on clearance for about $15 each in the early '90s. Tucked away now or used at trials when sleeping in the van.)
• Official dog mats, thick pile fleece with blue border. (3, one in kitchen, one in crate in bedroom, one for trials. About $15 each at pet stores through the years.)
• Raised PVC bed frames with rip-stop "hammock". (3, one in office, two in kitchen. Bought one at giant February AKC dog show at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds. Two bought at USDAA Nationals in Scottsdale. $55 each in 2001. )
• Big thick dog bed cushion with zippered cover. (2, both in office, one on a PVC bed frame--which the dogs take turns using--one from Costco about $20, one won in agility trial raffle.)
• Down-filled bed with stuff bag. (1, stored in closet, won in raffle.)
• Giant fleece/fabric sturdy throw used as dog bed in my bedroom. (1, won in raffle.)
• Smaller fleece rectangle with raised sides in my bedroom. (1, won in raffle.)
• Spiffy actual nice plush dog bed, bought for Jake with a Christmas gift certificate to PetSmart (so it was either free or $79.99, depending on your viewpoint, which could make it the most expensive). (Jake died only a month later, but he loved it while he had it. Tucked in the corner of my office, Boost uses it all the time. Tika sometimes uses it.)

(Short post in which this photo originally appeared.)

What is the most you ever paid for a large bag of dog food? Probably $55. Same thing sells at a discount at nearby Pet Club for $35.

What is the most you have ever paid for a dog toy, and what was it?
No clue. Probably in the $20 range from time to time.

List the vehicles you have bought specifically for traveling to and from dog competitions.
MUTT MVR! Read my 2005 post about it in the Quintessential agility car.

What is the furthest you have ever traveled in order to attend a dog event?
Scottsdale, Arizona (USDAA Nationals 2004,05,06,07,08).
Second furthest: Either San Diego, CA (USDAA Nationals, 2000 and 2001), or Eureka, CA (2002, chasing the last gambler's let for Remington's NATCH).

How many dog-related pieces of clothing do you currently own?
As of March 2007.

How many dog toys do you own? Don't forget to include the ones in the car and in various closets and at your in-laws' house.
As of November 2008. (Remember that you can click on a photo to see a larger version of it to make out more details.)

(Read the original post that goes with the photo.)

How many dog-related books do you own?



Remember that you can always click on a photo here to see a larger version of it if you want to browse bowser titles yourself. (Read the post that goes with the photo.) Here's the list of the books as of 2006. (Read the short post that goes with the list.)

Have you ever been bitten by a dog? If so what were the circumstances?
Accidentally when Jake and Remington got into a fight between me, the couch, and the coffee table.

Has your dog ever peed/pooped/barfed someplace that they really shouldn't have? If so, tell us what happened!
Are you kidding? I own dogs! Duh!

Has your dog ever stolen a major item of human food? Tell us!
Not that I recall.

When competing in dog sports, did you ever admire someone else's dog from afar so much that you will always remember that dog? If so, please tell us all about it.
So many dogs! Several Border Collies stood out, including one who would eventually become Boost's mom. Several mixed-breed dogs! I love their distinctive looks and how well they do even against Border Collies.

Of all your friend's dogs, which dog would you like to take home and keep if you had the chance? You can list three, just to be fair...or just one if you're ruthless!
I've had such a wide variety of my own, I now know that there is no perfect dog. Any one will have its issues and its successes. I don't covet others's dogs.

What has been your most embarrassing moment thus far while competing in dog sports?
Probably a tie between:

• Me and Jake running a beautiful first half of a Pairs Relay course, to have our partner cry, "Where's the baton?!" as I came racing in, empty handed. (That's an automatic disqualification.)
• Running into the teeter totter. Read about it here.

What has been your most shining moment thus far while competing in dog sports?

Oh, so very many! Jake's MAD (the first I ever earned). Remington's NATCH (my first dog's championship, FINALLY). Winning Full House with zillions of points over and over in CPE trials with Tika and Boost. Boost doing the weave poles correctly! Winning a ribbon at USDAA Nationals with Tika in an individual event. Making Team finals at the USDAA Nationals with Tika. Finally getting Jake's 5th Gamblers Q for his ADCH. Finally qualifying for Grand Prix semifinals with Tika with a smooth and beautiful and aggressive run. Having a Perfect Weekend with Tika. Earning a trophy at CPE Nationals with Tika--one Q away from a perfect 3-day Nationals with 1sts or 2nds in everything (and I mean of everyone competing, not just her class). Remington getting excited about agility again and running like when he first started. Jake jumping into my arms at the end of a run. I dunno--I could go on and on. 220 trials over 14 years--lots going on in there!

What are your goals for the future with your dogs?

Not sure any more. Once upon a time it was to win More First Places and Make It To the Nationals Finals. But now, I dunno, I'm thinking "retire and do a lot of hiking."

If the Dog Fairy could grant you one wish (sky is the limit), what would it be?

I love my dog family the way it is now. Love the dogs, love how they get along together, love how they've come along in their training. Don't want to have to start over again. Keep them around and healthy and active for many many years.

The Insurance Thing is NOT Finished After All

SUMMARY: Insurance companies are not your friends.

I finally received my final check from the insurance company a week or so ago and started looking more seriously at cameras and lenses. But wait--my annual renewal notice just arrived--

I'm trying hard not to be brokenhearted, but really-- Travelers Insurance pays me $1400 for a $2500 loss and now my premium goes up by $350/year for the next 5 years? This = $1750! How can this be right? Thought I could maybe afford a replacement camera but guess I can't. Have to save the insurance money to pay insurance premiums.

The lady on the phone was sympathetic but explained, "We're insuring you for a total loss of your home, not smaller losses." She said that (a) I lose the no-loss discount AND (b) I get a penalty for making a claim! Isn't that double jeopardy?

I haven't made any kind of claim in maybe 25 years. And this was someone ELSE breaking into my car, committing a crime against me! And *I'm* paying a penalty?

It is true that my policy says that I get a discount, but it doesn't in fact say how much, nor does it spell out a penalty for making a claim. So I had NO CLUE that it would cost me that much--and in fact it never occurred to me to ask (doh! you'd think at my age I should think of these things with insurance companies)--but it bothers me immensely that the insurance person with whom I dealt never even hinted that it would cost me more in the long run than I would ever get out of the claim.

Here's the catch--now no one else (so far with a couple of samples) wants to insure me except at about twice that much because--ka-ching!--I made a claim! For an amount less than 2 years of premiums!

Today I feel more violated than when the original break-in occurred. Then, I cried a bit here and there. Sometimes these random acts of evil fall on your doorstep and what can you do. Today, I bawled my heart out. Then threw up. Then found that I couldn't do anything for about an hour and a half after the [long] conversation with the insurance company. Couldn't read. Couldn't work. Couldn't think. Couldn't blog. Nothing. Shaking. Betrayed. Stunned. Angry. Shocked. Hopes for a new camera dashed. This is not a random act of evil; this is a systematic, institutionalized screwing of customers.

The other thing that really hurts is--I spent SO many hours getting the claim processed, for which I will never be reimbursed. And now I have to spend more hours checking with other insurance companies and/or trying to get this claim removed from the record, if that's at all possible. Hours for which I will also not be reimbursed.

And no camera. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm sure I'll think of something eventually.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TRAVELERS INSURANCE. Funny that just last night I was commenting to my renter that Consumer Reports rated them the lowest in customer satisfaction for homeowners insurance, and I said I wasn't sure why, mostly I was satisfied with how they handled my claim. Today--well.