Comments on: Reader Mailbag: Post-Christmas Thoughts

By: michele

michele — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:48:09 +0000

About collecting doggie poo…first of all, dogs are very easy to train to ‘go’ on command. I’d recommend you train them to ‘go’ before you leave for a walk. (If you have questions, go to the library and check out the Monks of New Skete for training suggestions) then, dump their load and go for a walk…but don’t let them pee on someone’s lawn! My personal peeve!!!
Here’s what we do-we have 2 Yorkies and 1 German Shepherd. We have a bucket in the back yard with a lid (it’s a former Costco laundry soap bucket) that is lined with 1 heavy duty black plastic bag. When the girls ‘go’ we use a scooper and rake set ($2 at a garage sale) you can also use a small shovel-and flip the poo into the bucket. The bucket is then covered– so no stink.
It’s actually under the master bedroom window, so I know it does not stink!
We dump the black plastic bag once a month into the garbage. This is easy, does not use excessive bags and is an easy way to dispose of dog poo. German Shepherd poo is about 10 times the size of Pug poo, by the way. My friends who have a Dobie do the same thing. Best wishes! We love our dogs and understand our responsibility to them. I’m sure you do, too!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:44:20 +0000

Q7: There’s regifting, and then there’s regifting. I’d feel much more comfortable taking the unwanted gift to someone on a non-gift-giving occasion and saying “I got this for Christmas, but I can’t use it. Is it something you can use? If so, you can have it,” than saving it until the next gift-giving occasion, wrapping it up, giving it to someone in lieu of getting that person another gift, and pretending it’s something you picked out especially for them. The latter strikes me as cheap.

(Having said that, for Christmas this year I did give my mother a DVD that she’d given me last year. But (1) she’d asked me if she could borrow it, (2) I gave her several other gifts too, and (3) I obviously wasn’t hiding anything from her.)

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:54:19 +0000

I wasn’t suggesting that Q8 take an entire roll of bags. If he is a community tax payer (I was referring to publicly funded parks; I wouldn’t even know how to find out if it was volunteer-driven), and he is being a good neighbor and citizen by cleaning up after his pets in the community, then I don’t see a problem with him grabbing 3 to 5 bags for future use. Taking 50 or 100 bags is unethical. Just my opinion, feel free use the other less-morally-questionable suggestions.

By: Penny

Penny — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:54:13 +0000

For the pet clean up? Totally agree that if it’s a small-ish dog? Buy the cheapest sandwich bags with the fold over top. They fit perfectly over your hands, if it’s a small dog (mine is a 25 pound coakapoo) it’s big enough to hold the mess. I just insert my hand into the bag, pick up the waste, flip the bag inside out over the waste and drop it in the trash before going back inside. I usually find them for about 200 bags for $1.50.

By: Annie

Annie — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:33:22 +0000

Q6, I have a bichon poodle mix that is 4 years old that is diabetic and on liver supplements. I got care credit for him, i am not sure if you want to look into it. I believe the first year is zero % interest and then obviously it changes. I would do anything for my dog also. I wouldn’t just put it down because it’s sick, i would only do that if my dog was severely ill and in pain.
As far as clean up bags for dogs, i can’t believe the cost when you go to petsmart or petco. I was able to find a deal once on petsmart clearence for 120 bags for 4.99 which was great. You can also get pet clean up bags at the dollar stores but the bags are not as strong as the kinds you find in retail stores. You can always ask for extra bags when you go grocery shopping, as far as using cloth bags or container that totally grosses me out, the last thing i want to do after walking by dog is bring anything home that has his poop stink in it.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:38:11 +0000

For the poop bags, we get a bag of painters gloves at the dollar store. Then, when fluffy does his business I grab it & pull the glove off inside out and tie off the glove end. Really cheap & really effective.

By: jim

jim — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:14:45 +0000

Q1 : She does not need a credit card.

Q3 : Stick to term. The universal life policies are full of fees and you’d be locked in for several years and they probably over promise returns. Don’t dump all your money into insurance. Buy the term policy and save your money elsewhere.

Q6 : Get quotes from multiple vets. Tell the vets you’re on a tight budget and negotiate the rates with them. The prices aren’t set in stone. Do some research and see if there are any pet related charities in your area or nationally that might help with the vet bills.

O9 : You need to figure out your living expenses during the internship then save up enough to cover that.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:07:57 +0000

Sabine-actually, yes I would sacrifice my future for a pet, as you so melodramatically put it. So would many other pet owners.

A full bank account offers you no love.

By: Sabine

Sabine — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:02:19 +0000

Q6: Although pets often become like “friends” or “family members”, they are actually not. I would pay for medical treatments beyond reasonable expenses only if I had the money to spare. If the dog is so sick that the expenses would put me into debt, I would put him down. I know it’s hard, but do you want to sacrifice your future for a pet?

By: Stacy

Stacy — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:49:51 +0000

Q8- we use the foldover sandwich bags mentioned in comment #10. You can buy a big box of them at Sam’s or wherever pretty cheaply and it is easy to stuff a few in my pocket before I head out. We have a 50lb dog and these bags are big enough to do the job.

By: AnnJo

AnnJo — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:27:59 +0000

Q8, you can buy a huge pack (880 bags) of bags on board from Amazon for $26.49 with free shipping. That works out to 3 cents a bag, or about 18 cents a day for your usage.

Public dog parks (which are often run and supplied by volunteers) provide bags so you will clean up after your pet AT THE PARK, not to subsidize your general pet expenses. Please don’t follow Tom’s advice and steal bags from parks to use elsewhere, or sooner or later that amenity will go away, as so many other community amenities have gone away or been cut back due to freeloaders and thieves.

Maybe we all have our price points at which we might consider compromising our ethics for a financial advantage, but seriously, who in this country really needs to set the price on their integrity as low as 18 cents a day?

By: AnnJo

AnnJo — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:27:49 +0000

Q1, I would make very sure that the credit card you plan to allow your partner to use does not allow a mere “authorized user” to change the credit limit. You should also keep in mind that if the card has a low limit, having your partner using it is likely to bump the charges up closer to the credit limit. I’d make sure I understood how the card will handle attempts at over-limit charges; do they pay them and then charge you over-limit fees and ding your credit report?

Personally, I think it is always a mistake, both credit-wise and relationship-wise, to combine finances with a person whose financial principles are the opposite of your own. If you value your credit OR your relationship, don’t do it. If you want your partner to have a credit card for emergencies, get her a prepaid one.

Unlike deRuiter, I don’t necessarily think a financially irresponsible person is necessarily a waste of good oxygen on the planet, but such a person operates under a very different set of rules when it comes to money, and you won’t like how it plays out.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:56:06 +0000

Veronica #1, You’ve got two choices. A. Hand this financially irresponsible person a credit card and in effect take a dull butter knife and hack away at your (financial) wrists while your (financial) lifeblood drips to the ground and disappears into the porous dirt forever. With luck the relationship will then disappear along with your vanished moneny up to the limit on the credit card, leaving you with bills for frivolous items, your utilities not paid, and possibly dings to your now stellar credit. B. Give partner a prepaid card for a modest amount and watch that get hemoraghed away. Plan B is far superior because it will only cost you $500. bucks or so to see how things will be, and it won’t damage your credit. This person has had no compunction about (financially) sticking it to people who trusted her by selling her goods and services for which she refuses to pay. Partner will do the same to you eventually. Stick with preloaded card, don’t ever put her on a regular credit card. Let PARTNER get job and arrange for prepaid card in her name, what are you, the sugar daddy? Blind people, crippled people in wheel chairs, all sorts of people with horrible disabilities get jobs and earn income. Most likely this “partner” could earn some kind of income, but chooses not to when “partner” can instead leach off of you. Sadly love is blind, but try not to be taken too badly financially by your “partner.”

By: Monica

Monica — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:29:33 +0000

Apparently poop is a popular discussion point today :)

What about using fold-over plastic sandwich baggies if you can’t secure a supply of free ones? You can get them at the dollar store, or even at the regular grocery store inexpensively.

(Maybe they wouldn’t be big enough. I don’t have a dog, so can’t speak from experience.)

By: Nate Poodel

Nate Poodel — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:25:32 +0000

Q8-I second the asking friends and coworkers for used shopping bags and newpapers. Until the local government outlawed them I usually had hefty bags full of them. You could also try to make a habit of picking up a copy of the free newspapers and advertisments you see around town. To me even junk mail would work for this purpose.
Also, my sister has a jaw type pooper scooper she got at Petco or Petsmart. As she walked her dog she could pick up the poo and then carry it to the dumpster at her apartment. She then wiped it clean on in a patch of sandy soil that was near her door and stored it inside next to the door for the next use. If it got dirty she could rinse it off easily.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:30:16 +0000

Q1 Veronica– adding your partner as an authorized user to your credit card may turn out to be a big mistake. She has already compiled a rather iffy track record–she has walked away from a house, has old uncollectable debts, and has declared bankruptcy. Once she is on your card, any debts she incurs using that card are legally your responsibility as well. Of you break up she could very well repeat past history, leaving you holding the proverbial bag. Wait until she has shown better judgement before combining your finances in any way.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:34:04 +0000

Q6: All dog stories end sadly, because their lives are so much shorter than ours. I have had to face this situation at times when money wasn’t a factor and a times when I made a lot of financial sacrifices to treat the pet. Remember that quality of life is everything to an animal.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:34:31 +0000

Q2: As I understand it, the law states that an old debt should fall off your credit report after seven years from the date of first delinquency. If the collection agency is reporting a false date of first delinquency, they are violating the law.

However, even if the debt falls off your credit report, that doesn’t mean you don’t owe it anymore. I agree with Trent that you need to talk to the collection agency to negotiate a settlement that they will accept. Get everything in writing before you send them a dime. At the same time, you might as well ask them if they’d be willing to report the correct date of first delinquency – and get that agreement in writing too.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:49:07 +0000

Q9 – You’re going to have to have a paying job before moving to DC right? I bet your standard 10-yr repayment is going to be close to $250 per month. The apartment likely will require a first-month (and possibly last month) deposit, and you’ll probably need a small deposit to get your electric service started. Including moving expenses and start-up costs of living on your own, it probably wouldn’t be unreasonable to save a minimum $4000.
I don’t know how big your school is, but if you have a professor or someone in your department as a guidance counselor, perhaps you can get some could suggested places to look for internships (or full-time employment) in the DC area.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:40:57 +0000

Q8- I second the suggestion from Mary – especially if you know other dog lovers who shop more than you. I currently have a laundry hamper full of grocery store bags that I could give away.
This will sound gross, but if they poop every time you take them out, can’t you use the same bag for both dogs? Pugs are relatively small…
My final suggestion would be to go to a local public dog-friendly park. Most of them near me require you to pick up after your pet, and provide clean up bags on a roll. You could grab a few for free there.