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Do your homework on debt collection (sm) [2008-07-22]
laws also - you just may have yourself a $1000 piece of paper in your hand.
Have you requested validation of this debt? If not, I would do that right away. Send it certified mail, return receipt requested. Depending on the age of the debt, I would be very careful about sending the canned do not contact me letter. If the debt is not that old, that can sometimes trigger them to sue. I bet if you send the please provide me with full validation (not verification that you have my name, address and soc. sec#) of this alleged debt. Short and sweet.
Collection Agency Tactics?? [2008-07-19]
Does anyone know who I should contact, or if I have anything to complain about regarding a collection agency out of Texas. I used to actually work for a collection agency 20+ years ago out of Florida, and we would NEVER have been able to say what these people have said to me via phone, let alone in a letter I just opened. Long story short, yes, I owe HSN $200+ for a computer I bought on a payment plan of $135 a month. Before I was done with payment #2, it broke, and thus began months and months of me sending this junk back and forth with Gateway. It was a lemon model, thus why it was offered for 5 payments on HSN. After I made payment #2 and Gateway had the computer for repairs more than we had it to use, I called HSN. In no uncertain words, the sales rep told me you bought it, you deal with it. There were lots of reviews at this point on HSN and all buyers were furious, as it was junk. HSN quickly removed the computer and reviews. So, yes, I have been lax in paying it, but it didnASSEMBLE AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WHICY WILL OR MAY INCLUDE...INFORMATION AS TO MY CHARACTER AND GENERAL REPUTATION... the caps and bold are their writing. It then goes on to say that I should send $$ immediately as they have NO DESIRE TO CAUSE ME EMBARASSMENT... Can they word things this way? I have never in all my life seen anything worded to this effect, as obviously, even though they use the word may, it is a direct insinuation to scare me that they are going to ruin my reputation and are questioning my character, and threatening embarassment. Seriously, has anyone ever seen this before? I don I wonder if HSN knows this agency is saying personal stuff like this? I know companies just farm out their old debts to agencies. Again, its a tough one for me to swallow, as the computer never lasted even halfway thru their 5 easy payment plan, but I have recognized the debt and am paying, albeit at $50 every 2 weeks. But this insulting letter was just the icing on the cake for me. Do you think its legal?
Collection agencies rub me the wrong way. [2008-07-19]
I have never worked for one, but all I know is that my husband and I have had the same phone number for over 7 years. Neither him nor I have anything that has ever gone to collection. However, we have gotten many calls from collection agencies. Most of the time it is just a recording telling us that they are looking for so-and-so and to call this number immediately and blah blah blah.The person they are looking for is never anyone we know and so I donGenerally, you call the number, tell them you aren't the person they are looking for, and they take you off of the list.
One collection agency, Premiere Credit, is harrassing us with phone calls. We get an automated message telling us that they are looking for someone at that number who has a contractural relationship with Premiere Credit and owes money. They never give who they are looking for and they tell us that if we are not that person (which we are not) to just ignore the message and not listen. Hello? How can I ignore the message when you are calling my phone and calling me repeatedly, mostly on the weekends. I have called the number they have given two times and told them that neither my husband or I owe them money and to stop calling. Yet the phone calls continue. My question is this....how do I get these harrassing phone calls to stop? We do not owe them money and yet this automated call keeps coming to our house.
Facility was so ticked with agency, no way you [2008-02-12]
x
My take is agency knew of vaca. but didnt tell [2008-02-12]
x
Seems to me, agency so glad to hire out MT, just [2008-02-12]
x
Maybe, if agency lying, you can get any fees back [2008-02-12]
x
Collection agency guy told me as long as make any [2008-01-22]
x
Americans are such suckers for SCARE tactics [2007-10-26]
imposed on us daily by the corporate media.
That's not to say don't be concerned and vigilant - just not to cave everytime they decide to scare us with propaganda.
WHAT is the school supposed to DO about it anyway?
In MHO, call your lawyer NOW... he is teaching your children to be afraid, overreact, and believe every scare tactic that comes down the pike.
I have a small collection of these, too. The plastic glitter ones [2007-10-06]
s
Hayseed how do you crop your pics? I'd like to add to the collection of animal angels here. [2007-09-18]
Or can I send you mine and you
I have the all the Soprano DVDs and Sex and the City collection... [2007-06-26]
I jump on my elliptical every day and trade off episodes. Makes my workout fly!
Mine is in the front room [2008-12-02]
which is supposed to be I guess the formal living room, but we never used it for that. I'm right next to two big windows so I can look out and see what's happening around me. My daugher's computer is right near mine so I can monitor her and my youngest daughter uses it for her playroom. I'm somewhat cluttered, but not overly so. Lot of pictures (my autograph collection), pens, scanner, steno book, dictionary. I've love to have doors put in, but I doubt that will ever happen.
Sorry you are feeling so down (sm) [2008-11-20]
First of all, relax. You need to go to a doctor and get on an antidepressant? No insurance? If you can get the money to go to the doc for one visit, you can get them to prescribe an antidepressant that is on Walmart's $4 list and get it for $4 a month. Call United Way and see if they can direct you where to get help with your rent. Don't worry about whether or not you have cable, you'll be okay without that unless you need it for your job? Don't worry about not being able to give Christmas gifts...just explain that you don't have the money. People will understand and your grandson can have it explained to him. I have the same isolation issues that you do because of the job. Can you go to a temp agency and see about getting a job outside of your house so you can be around people more? There is a website called Exercisefriends.com where you can meet people in your area who want exercise buddies, maybe just someone who is starting out trying to walk every day or something like that (not sure what your fitness level is). Or advertise on Craigslist for a walking buddy (but be careful of course when first meeting the person). I met one of my best friends this way and have known her for 4 years now. If you want an email buddy feel free to email me. I think everyone is struggling right now and it is hard. I would be happy to have you vent to me via email all you want. :-)
I was always taught the same sm [2008-11-11]
It is the thought that counts but I just could not justify that last Christmas.
My MIL (who I get along with great) collects a particular item (she has well over 100) and gives me and my SIL one every Christmas. At Thanksgiving I politely told her I just didn't have the room for anymore. I also told my SIL that if given the chance please tell her mother I don't want another one. She just laughed and said I don't think that is what she is going to get you. Even SIL agrees her mother's collection is way out of hand.
When I opened my gift from her it was of course this particular item I did not want. Her exact words were I know you said you didn I did thank her but I assure you it was not the most sincere thank you.
I think this year for Christmas I will give her a bottle of wine and say I know you don LOL!
Okay, I never thought to look for a website - [2008-11-05]
I just watch them on YouTube all the time and of course I have both of their albums and all of their B-Side Collection on my iTunes. Want to get Ragdoll and Myself too. Don't they put on a show?! Adam is so yummy! They were on 90210 one episode, which should be coming up in a few weeks on SoapNet on Sleep In Saturday.
I had my child's cord blood banked eight years ago [2008-10-31]
This was much more costly way back then. I compared many companies and finally decided on CBR (Cord Blood Registry). They are definitely the most reputable. The originating fee was $1200 and the maintenance fee is $95 per year. The procedure itself is virtually effortless. You are first sent a kit which you provide to your physician. At the time of your child My doctor was more than willing to perform this simple step at the time of my child Then, after collection, the kit is sent via courier to a deep freezer (I think mine is in Arizona).
This is such an exciting prospect. Talk about life/health insurance. Just imagine what can be done with these cells many, many years from now. Will mychild never have to develop cancer? Could a spinal cord injury be reversed? Could he be cloned? Just imagine the possibilities.
Truthfully, eight years ago was an eternity in this business of cord blood banking. I feel it is truly cutting-edge technology. Yes, it was costly, but when I think about the truly invaluable possibilities,I felt compelled to have this done. Now, it is much more affordable than it was back in the beginning stages of this technology. This is even much more valuable when siblings are involved. I, however, only have the one child.
I don With my medical background, there was just no way I could not do it. Sorry I got so lengthy about this, but I am a huge advocate of this concept.
Halloween candy warning [2008-10-30]
HALLOWEEN CANDY RECALLED
There is a new warning put out by the Canadian Food InspectionAgency....Sherwood brand Piratethat has caused many infant deaths in china. These candies are sold atCostco, as well as many bulk and dollar stores. please make sure tocheck your childrens halloween candy and DO NOT LET THEM EAT THE PIRATECOINS (you know the ones wrapped in the shiny gold foil) and please letother parents know about this!
in the same boat... [2008-10-14]
I am pretty much in the same situation and can relate to what you are going through. My problems with debt started because I decided to quit a job making 45,000/yr to do medical transcription in which I am lucky if I make 20,000/yr. I could not keep up with my own personal bills and instead of confiding in my husband, I put bills on my credit cards and every payperiod swore to myself that my paycheck would increase, but easier said than done since I do VR and the pay stinks. My husband thinks MTing is ridiculous for the pay and hard work we do. I was insisting upon staying with it and had too much pride to let him know I could not pay my own personal bills. When I did finally tell him he was upset that I would put myself in debt, knowing that as a couple, our debts affect each other. I am now seeking help from CCCS, a counseling service that has a very good reputation. Just make sure you pick a reputable, nonprofit agency, and they will put you on the right track back to financial stability. Needless to say, I am going back to the work I used to do and doing MTing on the side.
Best of luck to you!
American Girl Doll Products [2008-10-05]
I know this is general gab, but does anyone have any American Girl stuff to sell. I am trying to put together a collection for Christmas but can E-Bay is way expensive too. Thanks!
American Girl Products [2008-10-05]
Thanks for all the help you can give me. It looks like this is going to be a project to bring the collection in under budget by Christmas but I just can't afford to buy new and Santa won't be able to help out this year.
Timeshare/Vacation Club [2008-09-11]
Last summer, my husband and I got suckered into one of those timeshare talks while on vacation. We ended up buying into the trial program. It wasnprice freeze should we decide to buy in after that. After returning home and reviewing the package a little more closely, we decided that we wanted to cancel the trial package. I did a little research online and found that we had 7 days to cancel a timeshare. I immediately sent a certified letter to the resort company requesting to cancel the purchase agreement. They never responded and I ended up calling them to see if they had received my request. They confirmed that they did but that it was non-cancellable.
We stopped the autopay that we had set up on a credit card. From that time on, we began to get collection letters. I contacted the real estate commission for that state and asked for this to be investigated, to which I received a blanket letter from them stating that they tried to mediate but that the resort refused to resolve this. The resort basically stated that it was not cancellable and that we owed the money.
What I am wondering is, what happens now? The resort said they would continue to pursue this issue through third-party collectors. If I legally am obligated to this debt, why wouldn Why would they continue to draw this out? What effect will it have on my credit score? Anyone ever been in a similar situation? I should also note that we never used this vacation package. It expires July 2009. The total due has now escalated to about $1500 due to their late fees. I don Any suggestions?
if it does show up on your credit report sm [2008-09-11]
You could try to get it removed. Tell the credit agency to remove it because you don't owe the money, that you sent a certified letter within 7 days to cancel this and that legally you don't owe it. Check out the state attorney general's office. If it were me, I would not pay it. If it does end up on your credit report, i don't know if paying it will get it removed.
My ex too [2008-09-08]
Mine also lied about money - snuck money out of the checking account, my purse, even took money belonging to my child, or any change anyone left lying on the table.
Talking to him did nothing. I insisted we go to counseling. While there we discussed why he would be so stupid as to steal money out of our account - did he think I wouldn Didn Finally he admitted he was doing it for the adrenaline rush and also to defy me.
He couldn We divorced. During the past few years he moved in with friends and guess what - he stole any money he could find from them too, even their coin collection.
Ouch - my husband had to come clean to me too sm [2008-08-24]
I was very upset. Physically sickened, the whole range of emotional distress.
Then I realized that it wasn't just about him or about me, it was our family. The kids would really suffer.
Believe me, it was no easy thing for him either. I had helped him get out of a sticky financial situation before, right after his divorce from his ex-wife.
I thought everything was all good. I could not have been more wrong.
So after the initial shock of it wore off, we sat down and discussed the situation.
There were still tears of frustration, anger, and all of that from me but there were also some tears from him too, having taken it so far and keeping me in the dark.
He knew exactly what he had risked but realized it a little too late to fix it on his own. He had no choice but to come clean.
He was absolutely drowning in it but he decided it was better that I hear it from him, rather than having collection agencies start calling constantly.
Your husband needs to hear it from you.
Maybe if you printed these discussions and had him read through them it might ease it just a little.
I wouldn't expect miracles but wouldn't you rather hear it from him if the tables were turned?
Our marriage was pretty rocky before this happened too. It's still not the best but we are trying to make it work.
Financial infidelity is probably as hard on a marriage as cheating. The deception and sneaking around -- trying to cover your tracks. You may not realize the exact depth of stress you are putting on yourself with trying to hide this.
You said you love him. That's the biggest thing.
The crud will only keep getting deeper until you start shoveling.
Come clean with him and let him help you figure out what to do.
Telling him the truth is going to be the hardest part.
Good luck to you.
Did you know what the responsibilities were (sm) [2008-08-09]
before saying yes? That is a full time job in itself. I did it and actually had to chuckle a bit reading your post - typical PTO and their induction tactics. Unless you have a strong board you Oh, and then politics and it Wait till the real school year gets going. I assume you Everyone says they Is it a 1 or 2 year appointment? You might want to verify that. You can do it, but don Also, you can count on making enemies - it just comes with the territory.
I don't have any other real advice, but good luck!
Need help with difficult child [2008-07-28]
I have 3 children, ages 11, 8 and 5. My 8-year-old has always been a difficult child, starting in early infancy. He was always fussy and became quite stubborn during his toddler years. He is now 8 years old and I really have my hands full. He can get quite mouthy with his father and me (married and live together) and has even got physical with me. He has always been physical towards his brothers and is always fighting with them. He has given his teachers a hard time as well as my parents, who spend a lot of time with him.
One time when I was driving up the highway 55 mph, he became very upset (can I realize the child lock should have been on but wasn He becomes so angry so quickly, and I
I have tried several tactics for discipline/help in this situation and nothing seems to work. Some things are short-lived results, others no result at all. We have tried rewards charts, timeouts, loss of privileges, spanking (very short-lived and didn't work anyway) as well as professional counseling with a child psychologist.
The child psychologist spent about 3 months of weekly to every-other-week sessions with my son and wasn He indicated to me that my child definitely showed signs of anger through his drawings and behaviors, but he wasn He also seemed to be not so interested in what was causing the problem as he was in dealing with it. My take on it is that I need to know what I'm dealing with before I can begin to fix the problem.
My child has never been abused or traumatized. My parents and sister have been the only caregivers, other than myself and my husband, to care for him. My 2 other children behave fairly well. I can I
I His mood swings are so severe, I never know what to expect. What really has me jammed up is that when it Therefore, I know he
Has anyone else ever had a child act like this? Any ideas or suggestions? Please don I know I need to get this situation under control before it gets any worse. I just don My mom says *tough love*, but I Once when he really misbehaved, I put him in his room and took out all the toys and knick-knacks, so there was nothing but his bed and dressing in there. I put a door lock on the closet and shut the door. When I came back to check on him about 1/2 later, I found him lying on the floor and he had unscrewed all the knobs on his dresser. He was only 5 at the time. It
Collection Agency Tactics?? [2008-07-19]
Does anyone know who I should contact, or if I have anything to complain about regarding a collection agency out of Texas. I used to actually work for a collection agency 20+ years ago out of Florida, and we would NEVER have been able to say what these people have said to me via phone, let alone in a letter I just opened. Long story short, yes, I owe HSN $200+ for a computer I bought on a payment plan of $135 a month. Before I was done with payment #2, it broke, and thus began months and months of me sending this junk back and forth with Gateway. It was a lemon model, thus why it was offered for 5 payments on HSN. After I made payment #2 and Gateway had the computer for repairs more than we had it to use, I called HSN. In no uncertain words, the sales rep told me you bought it, you deal with it. There were lots of reviews at this point on HSN and all buyers were furious, as it was junk. HSN quickly removed the computer and reviews. So, yes, I have been lax in paying it, but it didnASSEMBLE AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WHICY WILL OR MAY INCLUDE...INFORMATION AS TO MY CHARACTER AND GENERAL REPUTATION... the caps and bold are their writing. It then goes on to say that I should send $$ immediately as they have NO DESIRE TO CAUSE ME EMBARASSMENT... Can they word things this way? I have never in all my life seen anything worded to this effect, as obviously, even though they use the word may, it is a direct insinuation to scare me that they are going to ruin my reputation and are questioning my character, and threatening embarassment. Seriously, has anyone ever seen this before? I don I wonder if HSN knows this agency is saying personal stuff like this? I know companies just farm out their old debts to agencies. Again, its a tough one for me to swallow, as the computer never lasted even halfway thru their 5 easy payment plan, but I have recognized the debt and am paying, albeit at $50 every 2 weeks. But this insulting letter was just the icing on the cake for me. Do you think its legal?
Collection agencies rub me the wrong way. [2008-07-19]
I have never worked for one, but all I know is that my husband and I have had the same phone number for over 7 years. Neither him nor I have anything that has ever gone to collection. However, we have gotten many calls from collection agencies. Most of the time it is just a recording telling us that they are looking for so-and-so and to call this number immediately and blah blah blah.The person they are looking for is never anyone we know and so I donGenerally, you call the number, tell them you aren't the person they are looking for, and they take you off of the list.
One collection agency, Premiere Credit, is harrassing us with phone calls. We get an automated message telling us that they are looking for someone at that number who has a contractural relationship with Premiere Credit and owes money. They never give who they are looking for and they tell us that if we are not that person (which we are not) to just ignore the message and not listen. Hello? How can I ignore the message when you are calling my phone and calling me repeatedly, mostly on the weekends. I have called the number they have given two times and told them that neither my husband or I owe them money and to stop calling. Yet the phone calls continue. My question is this....how do I get these harrassing phone calls to stop? We do not owe them money and yet this automated call keeps coming to our house.
Something that might help! [2008-07-19]
Ever hear of a guy named Dave Ramsey? Hea show on the Fox Business Network. I found this on his website (http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/qa_collectors_7039.htmlc). It
Collectors are calling my parents and neighbors about my debt: This is illegal but not uncommon. Again send a certified letter that you are aware they have violated the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by releasing private information and should it continue you will document the misbehavior for purposes of a lawsuit.
Best of luck to you with this!
Just wanted to thank you all for the great tips and [2008-07-19]
info and links. I called HSN today to speak with a supervisor, and read them the letter from their collection agency. They truly sounded horrified, and said that was not in the spirit of their company. Probably a bunch of phooey, but I also said that if the collection agency can threaten to ruin my reputation, I should also feel the same to mention to as many I can about HSN and the quality of computers they hawk. LOL. Best I could think of. At any rate, it felt good to voice my opinion to someone at HSN. I I think the things they said in the letter cover all of the above. Thanks for the help.
I am also looking for a career change and [2008-07-08]
would like to work in a doctor I find it rather amusing that they require some type of degree for clercial work yet if you register with an employment agency they place you without a degree (even temp to hire). When I deal with doctor JMO
are your taxes and insurance in with [2008-07-07]
the house note? By the time you have to pay for these out of pocket, will you realize much difference; I just my thinking. DO NOT TOUCH THE 401K; you will be horribly taxed on it as income. Actually, you guys are not that bad off debt-wise, know it sounds charming, I love rock houses. If you have land, I just keep on keeping on. Good luck.
Bath and teeth [2008-06-27]
Maybe it Some of it tastes yucky to a kid or the mint may be too strong orbrushing could be irritating his gums. Let him pick a child As for baths, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the tub. What mom didnsaid if I told mom she would call the adoption agency and tell them to take me back (I wasnatage 4 I didn Maybe he saw something on TVthat scared him. Some shows are pretty graphic (news too). I recall one show where a lady was brushing her teeth and blood started pouring from the faucet. Try letting him sit in a dry tub with a bucket of water for a sponge bath. Sit down and talk with the kid (not talk to) and assure him/her that if there is something going on you canhelp.
If you are set on closing, do not close the old ones, close a newer account first. [2008-06-18]
Your credit is based on a mix of things like history, types of accounts, mix of credit (revolving vs installment), usage/utilization of credit available, and payment history. Where closing could hurt your score is the part of the score that averages history of accounts/length of credit. If you decide to close, close out a newer account first.
The best way to protect from ID theft as far as credit is to freeze your credit reports. It's around $10 per agency to freeze them. Each credit reporting agency tries to sell your their own monitoring plan when you get to the how to freeze information, so make
sure you are freezing it.
You can't freeze it over the net they each require a letter by registered mail. It takes about 1 month to freeze it.
Right now you can place a fraud alert on your reports for free. The credit *should* not extend credit or do a credit line increase without calling the phone # on your credit report first. You only need to do it at one credit reporting agency and the other ones will be notfied. The number for equifax fraud alert 1-888-766-0008. It's automated.
If you are concerned about ID theft try one of the monitoring plans. I've tried a few of them and Equifax has the best one. Their Score Watch is great, you set the limits to be notified and any change they send an email literaly the next day. I used it after I discovered ID theft. It might be a waste of money for you. I would place the fraud alerts, then the freeze, and check your reports 2x per year.
I've had ID theft as far as my name/social but what concerns me more than credit ID theft is bank account theft. I don't know how we can fight that. It seems like consumers get the raw end of the deal as far rights when deposit accounts are stolen.
If you would like to further educate yourself on this issue [2008-06-12]
INTERESTING ARTICLE
I realize this is very long, but as an expert in this field, I want to re-post information I sent, in September, to another blogger concerned about the Best Friends summit.
I want to emphasize that the following information is based on years of dedicated research, and decades of dog training experience. I do not simply pass along information I've heard or read somewhere...which is sadly what most people, on all sides of dog-related issues, do.
I recognize that some of your readers may find parts of it quite controversial. That's okay. Facts are facts, even if they conflict with some other [expert's] unresearched opinions.
As such, I've opted to leave those sections in, because they're vital in refuting unfounded notions about dogs, canine genetics, and dog behaviour, which lead to myths about canine aggression.
Any individual point of controversy should not take away from the overall message of fact and reason that does not support the view that any entire dog breed could be considered dangerous.
Only once people stop repeating inaccurate information (no matter how good it may sound), will we ever hope to get to the heart of this issue, and start reducing the number of unprovoked dog bites.
The following was written off the top of my head, in response to concerns about the Best Friends' agenda. It is not a composed article meant for publication. Please also keep in mind, it has a decidedly Canadian perspective, although there is ample U.S. data referenced.
This is what I wrote (with a few minor clarifications):
Dear (blogger),
As you know, I am an expert in Canadian dog bite statistics.
After years of research, there are a number of interesting facts I right here, in one place.
The situation with unprovoked dog bites is not what nearly everyone believes it to be.
If I had one pet peeve, it is that most people merely repeat things they’ve heard or read. They don’t really know if what they’re saying is true or not. They merely “believe” those things to be true, and that’s enough for them, I guess.
You know what I say, “No matter how often or loudly a myth is repeated, it is still just a myth.”
Some people simply like agreeing with others. Some like to pretend they’re especially knowledgeable or have unique insight. Whatever the source for so many of these myths, years of research has proven the majority of beliefs I encounter about dogs are simply untrue.
Whenever discussing the issue of dangerous dogs, it's always important to remember a few key points about the dog bite statistics (especially as they pertain to Canada):
1. The most dangerous breeds in Canada are, in order: German Shepherd, Cocker Spaniel, Rottweiler, and Golden Retriever.
Why do I say this? Well, this is not dog bite data, but rather dog attack data based on the reporting information from the Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP).
The CHIRPP members (hospitals, and reporting physicians and nurses) have no reason to lie about the information they receive, surrounding the breed of dog that has attacked.
Why do I say the most dangerous? Well, because the CHIRPP data only applies to the most severe dog attacks (i.e. those injuries serious enough to require treatment in hospital). These are not little nips that can be treated with ice or even a band aid. These are severe dog bite injuries that need to be treated in hospital. The dogs that cause the most serious injuries in Canada belong to the above-mentioned breeds, more than any others.
Unlike municipal dog bite data (where any bite, no matter how inconsequential, or even against other animals, is counted), the CHIRPP data only relates to the most serious dog attacks against human victims.
2. 'Pit bulls' are rarely in the #1 spot in dog bite statistics.
Any measures to restrict or ban the #2, #5, or #37 'breed' of dog in the dog bite statistics, but not #1, is pure hypocrisy.
As faulty as the logic may be, if you're going to ban or restrict a type of dog in an attempt to reduce the number of dog bites, then it must be the ones who bite the most and/or cause the most serious injuries. Either way, that 'breed' is not 'pit bulls'.
3. There hasn't been one confirmed death of a child attributed to an unprovoked attack by a 'pit bull' in Canadian history. (There has been one unconfirmed death.)
4. The very first human fatality attributed to an unprovoked attack by a 'pit bull' in Canadian history occurred in May of 2006. Until then, every insinuation or claim about Canadians being in danger of being killed in unprovoked attacks by 'pit bulls' was totally unfounded.
(In the Ontario case in May, the dog was actually only part 'pit bull'. It was a Labrador Retriever/'pit bull' cross, and the dog's owner was the victim.) (It should be noted that there have been at least two human fatalities in Canada attributed to unprovoked attacks by Labrador Retriever crosses, yet this was the first for a 'pit bull' cross.)
5. Municipal dog bite statistics often combine reported dog bite data against both humans and other animals.
While I don’t have any problems with doing so, those citing combined statistics must be aware that the majority of the dog bite reports aren’t against people. To imply otherwise is, at best, misleading and, at worst, dishonest.
For example: Toronto has arguably the largest municipal ‘pit bull’ population in Canada. In 2004, 12 of the city’s estimated 30,000+ ‘pit bulls’ had been reported for biting. (That’s about 0.04% of the population, by the way; leaving 99.96% of Toronto’s ‘pit bulls’ completely innocent of such allegations.) However, the majority of those reported bites were against other animals. Only 2 of the 12 could even begin to be called “attacks” against humans.
So, when 2 out of at least 30,000 dogs of a loosely-defined type are involved in attacks in an entire year, is that really justification for not just trying to ban or restrict them, but for making sweeping generalizations about all the rest?
6. No matter what dog ‘breed’ tops the dog bite statistics, the vast majority of bites are still attributed to other breeds.
To better help people understand the absurdity of a breed-based approach to dog bite prevention, let’s imagine that ‘pit bulls’ are responsible for a virtually unheard of 10% of bites in some Canadian city. That still leaves 90% of biting dogs unaffected by any breed-based approach.
This is the primary reason why breed bans have been such a colossal failure wherever they’ve been tried. The majority of biting and attacking dogs are not affected, so their owners are free to continue to behave negligently.
7. All dogs can bite.
There is no such thing as a breed of dog that has never bitten, never attacked, never maimed, or never killed (a person or other animal).
8. It is the size of the victim, not the dog, which best predicts severity of injury in an attack.
While even the very smallest dog breeds have killed humans, the very largest dog breeds are rarely involved in attacks.
9. Adults are rarely seriously injured by dogs of any size, while children are the most common dog bite victims. Their attackers range from the very smallest to the very largest dog breeds.
10. The dogs actually involved in attacks are not genetically related in any meaningful way.
This goes right to the heart of common, yet completely unscientific, baseless claims about allegedly inheriting aggressive behaivours or being bred for aggression.
In short, the dogs involved in attacks are not closely genetically related to one another. This tends to refute the idea that the attack was due to some aberrant inherited gene.
Think about it. What could the Dalmatian that bit off a boy’s nose 10 years ago and the Golden Retriever that left 76 stitches in a girl’s face, just a few years ago, possibly have in common, from a genetic standpoint? Is anyone really trying to suggest they’re genetically related, and both inherited some sort of as-yet-undiscovered “attack gene”?
Even the Rottweiler that killed a child in New Brunswick and the Rottweiler that killed a child in Ontario don’t share any common ancestors in their pedigrees; making the whole notion of a shared genetic cause for attacks completely ludicrous.
Put simply, the individual dogs involved in unique attack incidents are not genetically related in any way other than that which makes them dogs.
11. Psychology defines aggression as learned behaviour.
I’ve been researching dog biting incidents since 1999. I have yet to find a dog involved in an attack that didn’t have a known history of aggressive behaviour.
Aggression has to be learned and practiced before it is perfected. I have yet to come across a case of a dog that attacked unprovoked, without ever having barked menacingly, growled, lunged, snapped, or what have you.
This completely refutes the (quite silly) urban myth that “some dogs just turn”, or that dogs can be THIS unpredictable. (i.e. friendly family pet with no history of ever having behaved aggressively one minute; then savage, unprovoked attacker the next)
As an experienced dog trainer (one who has spent many of those years SUCCESSFULLY re-training aggressive dogs), I can attest that dogs are not all that unpredictable. Sure, they might do something out of the ordinary, every now and then. However, for a dog to suddenly behave aggressively in a way that is truly threatening or injurious, it must have practiced those behaviours in the past. This is the nature of all learned behaviours. Only practice makes perfect. (I can elaborate more on that, if you wish.)
It’s as though people can’t imagine any other form of aggressive behaviour, other than biting. To help them along, I must point out that aggressive behaviours follow a fairly predictable scale of escalation. It may begin with staring or raised hackles (all merely indicating discomfort with a situation). That can lead to raised lips, growling, stiffened body posture, menacing barking, lunging, and attempted bites. Long before an unwarranted bite ever occurs, there are a litany of warning signs that the dog will eventually bite.
Even the most die-hard dog fighting breeders admit they have to start their puppies very young (often at six weeks), to turn them into superior fighters. When asked why they have to spend so much effort training their (allegedly bred-to-fight) dogs, none can provide a scientifically or practically sensible response. Most use made-up terminologies to emphasize what they believe are inherited traits, while playing down the daily training they force on the dogs. Yet it is clear that, without this ongoing encouragement, the dogs don’t become proficient fighters.
I’ve researched so many cases where the owner has allegedly claimed the attack was the first time the dog behaved aggressively, I now pay little heed to such statements. The neighbours almost always tell a very different story.
To use a more famous case as an example, little Courtney Trempe was killed by a dog the owner claimed had never behaved aggressively before. The owner went on to say he “couldn’t have known” the dog would attack, because it had never tried to bite a person. Well, it turns out the dog had not just attacked previously, but had actually killed two neighbourhood dogs in the past. That is an aggressive dog, by anyone’s standards.
But it does bring me to my next point…
12. Aggression is aggression is aggression. The idea that aggression can be species-specific is not based in any kind of scientific, statistical, or practical data. It seems to be little more than wishful thinking. Those perpetuating this notion tend not to have even attempted to validate this theory in any way.
There is a very disturbing myth being promulgated by a number of groups that should know better than to perpetuate unfounded myths. The idea that aggression towards other dogs is markedly different than aggression towards humans is scientifically and statistically baseless. (But I realize a lot of people learned this myth, and repeat it as though it is true.) I have to point out that the real-world data, in no uncertain terms, clearly refutes such theories.
Of the dogs involved in their first aggression incident towards a human, the vast majority had behaved aggressively towards other animals (usually other dogs) in the past.
Of the dogs involved in their first bites against humans, where the dog had no history of aggression towards humans, the majority had behaved aggressively towards other animals (usually other dogs) in the past.
Of the dogs whose first bite against a person resulted in that individual’s death, and where the dog had no history of aggressive behaviour towards humans, every one of the cases I’ve investigated involved dogs that had behaved aggressively towards other dogs in the past. (see the Trempe case example, above)
So, while some aggressive dogs may, for now, limit their aggressive behaviour to other animals, it in no way guarantees it will remain that way forever.
Most, if not all, the first-time human biters had only behaved aggressively towards other animals, in the past. Their owners, having believed the myth that aggression is species-specific in dogs, are always surprised when their dog-aggressive dogs bite someone.
Again, dog-aggression could remain contained, for a number of social and environmental reasons. Statistically, these dogs are equally as likely to bite a human, one day. Dogs with histories of aggressive behaviour (towards either humans or other animals) are almost exclusively involved in unprovoked biting incidents.
13. Nearly all unprovoked dog bites would not be prevented by dog control laws.
Since dog control laws typically only apply to the conduct of owners (and their dogs) when they’re on public property, it completely negates their ability to affect the circumstances that lead to the vast majority of unprovoked dog bites.
When it comes to total dog bite numbers, almost all take place on the owner’s property.
When it comes to reported dog bite numbers, the overwhelming majority take place on, or directly adjacent to, the owner’s property.
Supervised dogs in a public place account for less than 1% of all bites.
This makes public restraint laws especially ineptly-aimed and ineffective in reducing dog bites.
Most unprovoked biting incidents involve (typically an unsupervised) dog known to the victim. Whether or not the victim knows the dog, the bite usually takes place on the owner’s property (where the dog is either loose or tethered), or directly adjacent to the owner’s property (where the dog was either allowed to venture off the owner’s property, or “escaped”).
Very few unprovoked biting incidents involve a supervised dog. Simple supervision appears to be very effective in preventing dog bites.
When bites take place far from the owner’s property, the dogs involved were most likely loose, roaming, unsupervised dogs.
Simply put, public restraint laws don’t target the situations that actually lead to unprovoked dog bites.
14. Cities that address the real causes of unprovoked dog bites (i.e. lack of supervision & lack of socialization and training) are hugely successful in reducing the number of dog bites.
Calgary is the best example we have in Canada. They reduced dog bites by 70%, even during a period where the population doubled.
Calgary’s approach was to first enforce existing laws. They strictly enforce licensing, and boast a licensing rate of 90% (compared to most cites’ 10-20%). In this way, they have a better handle on the dog population in their community, which helps in making decisions and drawing conclusions.
They also have a zero tolerance policy for acts of aggression. (Something I’m personally totally in favour of. Dogs are not weapons, and anyone who unethically uses a dog for that purpose shouldn’t be allowed to own one.) Any report of aggressive behaviour of any kind results in a visit from animal control and a warning.
City officials are clear, in that they agree one of the biggest aspects of their success was the creation of ample off-leash areas for dogs to be exercised, socialized, and trained off-leash. With reportedly the largest number of off-leash parks in Canada, it’s no coincidence that Calgary also has the lowest dog bite rate of any major city in Canada.
Several years ago, I made this prediction, “When the studies are done, we’ll find the cities with the best access to off-leash parks are also the cities with the lowest percentage of dog bites.”
Calgary certainly suggests my prediction was correct.
Finally, Calgary increased the penalties for some transgressions. Combined with increased enforcement, the large percentage of licensed dogs, along with the higher fines, has led to Calgary’s animal control department becoming financially self-sufficient.
It’s win, win, win, in Calgary, all because they addressed the real causes for unwarranted aggression in dogs.
15. Breed-specific approaches to dog bite prevention have failed.
There isn’t one region that can claim a reduction in the number, or severity, of dog bites as a direct result of banning a breed of dog.
In Winnipeg, officials promoting the city’s long-time ban on ‘pit bulls’ often misleads the public by stating “’pit bull’ attacks” have been eliminated. Well of course they’ve been eliminated. ‘Pit bulls’ are banned in Winnipeg. You don’t have to be rocket scientist to figure that out. There are also no wooly mammoth attacks or saber toothed tiger attacks, either.
When Winnipeg banned ‘pit bulls’, German Shepherds, and their crosses, were far and away the most common biters in that city. After ‘pit bulls’ were banned, there was an average of close to 50 more bites per year, for the following decade. In addition to the rise in overall dog bites, the number of bites by German Shepherds and crosses, Labrador Retrievers and crosses, Terriers crosses, and Rottweilers and crosses, skyrocketed.
Kitchener is another example. The city of Kitchener banned ‘pit bulls’ in 1997, without ever having done an analysis on the city’s dog bite data. Only after ‘pit bulls’ were banned was it discovered they were #8 in the 1996 dog bite statistics, “right behind #7 Poodles,” as it is commonly said. In what could only be a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, officials immediately halted the collection of dog bite data by breed.
Even so, while we don’t know which breeds have been doing the biting, we can still determine if the ‘pit bull’ ban has been effective in reducing dog bites in Kitchener. Every animal bite is required, by law, to be reported to the Medical Officer of Health. With a sleuthing, it was discovered that dog bites haven’t been reduced at all, since ‘pit bulls’ were banned in 1997. They’ve remained pretty constant.
According to a BBC report, hospitalizations due to dog bites rose 25% after ‘pit bulls’ were banned in England.
Officials from most of the cities that have repealed breed-specific laws have used terms like “ineffective” and “unenforceable”.
16. All dog breeds are genetically identical. Even DNA can’t distinguish between a Chihuahua, a ‘pit bull’, a Great Dane, and a wolf. (Yes, while there are occasional claims of in-roads, in this area, using markers, all dogs are still considered genetically identical.)
Those rare individuals with the personal expertise necessary to accurately attempt to determine a dog’s breed based on appearance alone typically are not employed in the various occupations charged with enforcing most breed-specific legislation. This leaves the subjective determination of a dog’s breed to the very inexpert animal control and shelter workers. In some cases, police officers must decide the dog’s breed, yet not one police officer is trained to (accurately) differentiate between dog breeds.
The same can be said of veterinarians. A veterinary license infers expertise in diagnosing and treating illness, for the most part. Neither practicing veterinarians nor veterinary students are required to prove any expertise in breed identification in order to obtain a license. Any expertise an individual veterinarian may possess, in terms of breed identification, or even dog training and behaviour, was most likely acquired outside the requirements of licensing.
Because the people enforcing breed-specific laws are not dog breed identification experts, the likelihood of misidentification is unconscionably great. (In Ontario, several dogs have already been misidentified, under breed-specific ordinances.)
17. The public is not in danger of unprovoked dog bites.
For instance, every recent dog-related fatality in Canada has involved dogs and victims residing within the same home. The same could be said for the majority of bites and attacks, as well.
This is very important information, in terms of quelling the public’s hysteria. “The public” is rarely involved in unprovoked biting incidents. Most bite victims knew the dog and were voluntarily interacting with it at the time of the bite. Most bite victims are bitten by their own dogs.
If you don’t own a dog, your risk of being bitten is very low. If you also don’t interact with dogs, or live next door to a dog that is routinely left unsupervised, or one that is known to behave aggressively, then your risk of being bitten is virtually nil.
Even when we don’t account for contributing factors (such as proximity) you are still more than 100 times more likely to be hit by lightning than killed by a dog. (In Canada, the likelihood of being killed by a dog you don’t know or live with is virtually zero.)
18. ‘Pit bulls’ are, if anything, less likely to bite.
In the U.S., ‘pit bulls’ are estimated to make up 9% of the dog population, yet they typically only make up 2-4% of dog bites, nationwide. In case your readers don’t understand what that means, it would be expected, purely on population alone, that 9% of dog bites would be attributed to ‘pit bulls’. Since less than half (even a third) of bites are reportedly caused by ‘pit bulls’, this suggests they’re much less likely to bite than should be expected.
19. ‘Pit bulls’ are less likely to kill than people.
In the U.S., even extremely conservative estimates suggest that only 0.00002% of the ‘pit bull’ population has killed. This is much lower than the human population (men, in particular).
Whatever someone’s views about ‘pit bulls’ might be, it can’t change the fact that at least 99.99998% have never, and will never, kill anyone.
20. 99.9% of all dogs, from all breeds, will never be involved in an attack.
Huge generalizations about dog breeds is not only unscientific, it’s not even practically accurate. I like to put it this way, “If any ‘breed’ were genetically programmed to attack, certainly more than 0.1% of them would.”
21. The media.
While I don’t want to get into a protracted discussion about the lack of honesty in media reports of dog bites, I will summarize by saying that reviewing media reports of dog biting incidents is not “research” because the media is extremely biased in regards to which stories it chooses to cover.
The media reports dog biting incidents involving ‘pit bulls’ to the near-exclusion of all others. In addition, they use other tactics to exaggerate the details, such as salacious language, or references to other dog biting incidents involving ‘pit bulls’.
There are countless incidents of media bias. In Ontario, a ‘pit bull’ killed another dog, and it was front-page news, that reappeared in the media for weeks. The owner was swiftly taken to jail. Around the same time, two Labs killed another dog, and attacked a ‘pit bull’ without any real media interest. The owner of the Labs was not charged with any serious offence.
There are other blatant incidents, as well. One weekend, two off-leash dogs (one of them being a ‘pit bull’) got into a squabble, and every major media agency reported the incident. That same weekend, a child was mauled by the family’s Golden Retriever, and not one media outlet covered the story.
A child was mauled so savagely by his grandfather’s Labrador Retriever, he required treatment at two Ontario hospitals. Only one media outlet covered this story in just one broadcast.
Again, relying on the media for the facts of dog biting cases is not advised.
Naturally, I could go on. But there you have a pretty good primer (off the top of my head), regarding the facts about the who, what, where, when, how, and why dogs bite unprovoked.
Because I kept encountering the same story, over and over and over again, in my research of dog biting incidents, I was led to create a dog bite prevention strategy that deals with the factors common to nearly all the cases I’d investigated.
I made it simple, and easy to remember. And I made sure not to include anything that would require an individual to develop some kind of expertise. People who don’t own dogs or aren’t experienced dog trainers still have a right to protect themselves from unprovoked dog bites. The following is what I call, the “3 Simple Steps to Dog Bite Prevention”:
1. Avoid unsupervised dogs.
2. Never leave children unsupervised with dogs.
3. Ensure our own dogs are properly trained and adequately supervised at all times.
By following these “3 Simple Steps”, we could virtually eliminate unprovoked dog bites in Canada.
It is not just important, but vital, to know what ACTUALLY causes dogs to bite unprovoked, if we ever hope to reduce those numbers. Obtusely theorizing about possible causes or solutions is not helpful and, as in the case of breed-specific legislation, is often harmful to both humans and dogs.
If you would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Darby
Founder,
Not always true about minimum payments - sm [2008-05-13]
One of my kids was seen in the emergency department last April and we didn't get a bill for the visit until September. The outstanding bill was about 800.00.
As I have always done in the past, I made payments, no less than 100.00 per month to get it down. Along with the second statement in October was a letter from the hospital stating that we would need to choose one of three payment plans.
1. Payment in full.
2. Two installments for half of the balance each time.
3. Apply for a credit account at 18.9% interest.
This was definitely something new and I ignored it. There was NO way I was going to choose any of those three when I have always done as I was doing, making payments of no less than 100.00 per month until the balance was paid off.
Guess what.... when the balance was down to 200.00, they turned it over to collection. Yep. Turned it over.
Be very careful.
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