In case you haven’t yet gone through today’s coupon holders (aka the Sunday paper), Parade magazine has five P&G coupon on one page in the middle. Don’t know if all Parades have these, but since they’re pretty low-value coupons, probably so. At least we can just rip out the entire page and store it.
Went to a car show this evening with PITA. See the whole row of DeLoreans? That is something I have never before seen. These cars are 30 years old! and still look cooler than most of the crap on the road today.
The picture in the middle and on the right shows a car that has been outfitted like the car in Back to the Future – owner says it took eight years of work. The dashboard lights were awesome and don’t come out well in the pix.
Then we stopped at Wild Bran, the Lisle health food store (for want of a better term). Got suckered into buying some organic cheddar cheese and these totally awesome GF sweet potato chips. Note to self: stay the hell away from food samples! I snapped a bunch of store shots because, frankly, I did not know there was so much GF food being produced. Seriously! Refrigerated GF cookie dough? shame they don’t take RRs…
Wild Bran
Danger, Will Robinson territory!
GF junk food!
refrigerators full of ready-to-eat GF foods!
Put down your cup time! You’ve been warned. This is from a site by Mike Anderson called E-mails from an Asshole, where he sends emails to people who post classified ads.
From Julia ****** to Me:
Mike – Which movies do you have and how much do you want for them?
From Me to Julia ******:
Julia,
Here is the full list:
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alladin
Backdoor Creampies 2
Beauty and the Beast
Big Black Threesome
Fantasia
Finally 18 and Legal
The Lion King
Mattress Slaves 3
The Mighty Ducks
Toy Story
Wet Squirters 5
Please let me know which ones you want.
Thanks,
Mike
From Julia ****** to Me:
Mike…some of those titles are inappropriate.
From Me to Julia ******:
Julia,
Which titles are inappropriate?
Mike
From Julia ****** to Me:
I think you know which ones…
From Me to Julia ******:
Are you talking about Fantasia? I know, I thought it was a Vietnam war movie too. I assure you it has nothing to do with Asia and is completely appropriate for children. The only other title I think you are referring to as inappropriate is The Lion King, but I think you are confusing that with “The Scorpion King,” the violent movie starring Dwayne Johnson. While the Lion King does have adult themes, it is nothing like The Scorpion King.
I hope this clears things up.
Mike
From Julia ****** to Me:
No…explain to me how these movies are for children??? Backdoor Creampies, Big Black Threesome, Finally 18 and Legal, Mattress Slaves 3, Wet Squirters 5. It sounds to me like you are trying to throw out your porn collection.
From Me to Julia ******:
Pornography? What a disgusting accusation! What kind of a person do you think I am? You have a really perverted mind if you think those movies are adult films.
You’ve really never heard of those movies? Where was your childhood? I’ll find the plot summaries for you.
Backdoor Creampies – Cindy, a little girl with big ambitions, decides to open a bakery in her parents kitchen – selling pies to children who come to her backyard. Cindy learns that running a business isn’t all fun and games in this hilarious tale of entrepreneurship.
Big Black Threesome – Barry, Billy and Bernie are three lovable black bears who have zany adventures during their quest for honey.
Finally 18 and Legal – A coming of age story about a young girl who becomes an independent woman.
Mattress Slaves 3 – Part 3 of the shocking documentary about slave labor in the mattress industry of third world countries. (Acceptable for kids, and in my opinion, a necessity to educate them on some real world issues. I never bought a foreign mattress again after this eye-opener.)
Wet Squirters 5 – The Squirters gang is back again in this heartwarming tale about a group of whales who try to find their long lost father in a vast ocean of wet sea critters.
Once again, I hope this clears things up for you.
Mike
From Julia ****** to Me:
You expect me to believe that all of those movies simply have unfortunate titles? Nice try.
From Me to Julia ******:
Sorry to disappoint your sick mind Julia, but yes, they are all children’s movies. So do you want them or not?
By the way, I just found 3 more movies to add to the collection I am offering:
Toy Story 2
James and the Giant Peach
Walt Disney’s Double Penetration Cockblasts 3
Mike
From Julia ****** to Me:
Okay I’ve had enough of this. You are a nut.
From Me to Julia ******:
Think of the children, Julia. They will never get to enjoy these classic films because of you.
From Julia ****** to Me:
Go to hell.
The rest of this conversation is the following day. I looked up his address in Google street view to figure out what his driveway looked like.
From Me to brad ********:
Hey Brad,
Just wanted to let you know, we actually need to get rid a few more rocks, so my guy is going to deliver them to your house in about 15 minutes.
Mike
From brad ******** to Me:
wait what how many more? i dont want any more i have nowhere to put them
From Me to brad ********:
We sent a truckload with about 8 tons of 6″ rocks. Don’t worry, all the rocks are free of charge.
From brad ******** to Me:
8 TONS? what the fuck you better tell your guy not to deliver them
From brad ******** to Me:
you got that? DONT DELIVER THE ROCKS
From Me to brad ********:
I just got off the phone with my guy, he said he just delivered the rocks. He told me you didn’t leave him enough room for all 8 tons by the shed, so he just dumped them in front of your garage.
Best,
Mike
From brad ******** to Me:
WHAT THE FUCK!!!! i told you dont delever them you fucking dipshit! the fuck am i gonna do with all those rocks? you better get rid of them by the time i get home man….. how am i suposed to park my fucking car?
From Me to brad ********:
I am sorry that we had to block your garage, but you should have left more room next to the shed if you wanted them dumped there. Unfortunately we lack the necessary machinery to load the rocks back into the truck so removal is not an option. Also, my driver said he accidentally backed into your shed and broke one of the windows. We apologize for this. Consider the free extra rocks as compensation for the damage.
Mike
From brad ******** to Me:
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDING ME MOTHER FUCKER YOUR PAYING FOR THE SHED
I LEFT YOU PLENTY FUCKING ROOM FOR THE AMT OF ROCKS I ASKEDFOR. YOU DIDNT SAY YOU WERE DELIVERIG 8 FUCKING TONS OF ROCKS YOU PEICE OF SHIT!!!! USE YOUR HANDS I DONT GIVE A FUCK HOW YOU DO IT BUT IF I FIND 8 TONS OF ROCKS IN MY DRIVE WAY THERE IS GONNA FUCKING HELL TO PAY
FUCKING ASSHOLE
From Me to brad ********:
Brad,
If you insist on us removing the rocks then we are going to have to charge you a $500 rock removal fee.
Mike
From brad ******** to Me:
THIS IS SOME FUCKING BULLSHIT
From Me to brad ********:
I am sorry you feel that way, but without the $500 removal fee, we cannot remove the rocks. I realize you must be upset about your shed, so if you like, we can deliver another 4 tons of rocks as our way of apologizing for the shed.
Mike
From brad ******** to Me:
NO DICKHEAD WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANT MORE ROCKS??? DUMBASS
THIS IS YOUR FUCKING FAULT. I DIDNT ASK FOR 8 TONS OF ROCKS AND IM NOT PAYING SHIT. YOU OWE ME FOR THE SHED AND YOU GET THOSE ROCKS THE FUCK OUT OF THERE YOU FUCKING PRICK
From Me to brad ********:
If you aren’t paying, then you have to keep the rocks. These are really nice rocks, though. I’m sure you will be able to find use for them. I have a pile of rocks in my backyard and it makes for a great conversation piece. If deer are a problem in your backyard, you can use these rocks to throw at them. They also make great paperweights. There are plenty of things to do with these rocks, so enjoy them.
Mike
From brad ******** to Me:
im at my house now. where are the rocks?
From brad ******** to Me:
oh FUCK YOU
Mike
From Will ******* to Me:
Holy Christ! What the hell did you do to that thing?!
From Me to Will *******:
I’m not sure…I think I might have dropped it.
Mike
Attachments:
From Steve ******* to Me:
Mike, the CD player looks good. Does it have a remote? If so, I can pick it up tomorrow. Where do you live?
Steve
From Me to Steve *******:
Steve,
It does have a remote. Tomorrow works for me, I work in Manayunk near the hospital and can bring the CD player to work with me. We can meet anywhere around there in the afternoon.
Just one minor thing though, and I truly am sorry about this, but I accidentally tripped over the CD player in the dark earlier and chipped the side of the plastic cover. There isn’t a screen there and it does not affect the performance whatsoever, but I just thought I should let you know. I’ve included a picture of the small chip.
Mike
Attachments:
From Steve ******* to Me:
No worries… That is fine. What’s your phone number? Mine is 215-***-****.
From Me to Steve *******:
Steve, I’m really sorry, but I accidentally damaged it a little more. I really should have moved it out of the middle of the hallway, because I just tripped over it again. Unfortunately I was wearing steel-tipped boots and cracked the plastic cover around the screen. A few of the buttons got mashed in as well. You can still play songs 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9, though. Or just use the remote. It still plays CDs fine, and I’ve included a picture of it powered on so you can see that it still works.
Once again, I am terribly sorry about this. I am going to knock $10 off of the price for your inconvenience.
Mike
Attachments:
From Steve ******* to Me:
Could you drop the price down to $50? That looks pretty bad.
From Me to Steve *******:
Sure. It is my fault for tripping over it anyway.
From Me to Steve *******:
Hey, it’s me again. I was loading the CD player into my trunk to bring to work tomorrow, but then my friend called me and I got distracted. Long story short, I forgot the CD player was behind my car and I accidentally backed over it a little bit when I went to go to Wawa. Thankfully I hit the brakes before I crushed anything important, but the back frame is a little bent.
I assure you that the CD player still works. On the bright side, the car must have popped that chipped plastic cover off of the front, so now you can clearly see the real screen. I think it looks better, don’t you? From the front, staring at it head on, you can’t even tell that the back is bashed in like that. Seeing as I improved the looks from the front, I am going to bump the price back up to $60.
I am going to try my best to bend the metal frame back to the way it was. Once again, I am very sorry about this.
Mike
From Steve ******* to Me:
Are you kidding me? That thing is ruined. What a freaking klutz you are! How didn’t you realize it was behind your car?
From Steve ******* to Me:
Oh, and you have the nerve to charge me MORE money for breaking it worse?
From Me to Steve *******:
Don’t worry, I can fix it. I’m working on fixing it right now.
From Me to Steve *******:
Okay, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, the CD player still works. The bad news is that I was smoking a cigar while I was trying to repair it, and it accidentally set part of the CD player on fire.
As you can see from the picture, some of the CD player has melted. Thanks to my 2 months experience as a volunteer firefighter, my instincts kicked in and I was able to extinguish the flames with my coffee before too much of the CD player melted. It still can hold about 33-35 CDs, and all that stuff that melted on the right side wasn’t important anyway.
Unfortunately, I drink expensive coffee and it was nearly full when I had to use it to put out the fire. Therefore, I am adding another $3 to the price of the CD player to bring the grand total to $63.
Once again, the CD player still works. I think it sounds even better than before. It is now in my trunk and ready to be sold to you tomorrow. I’ll give you a call when I have my lunch break so we can meet up for the sale.
Thanks,
Mike
From Steve ******* to Me:
You must be stupid if you think I’ll pay $63 for the charred remains of your CD player. I can’t believe how badly you managed to fuck that thing up. How are you still alive? How have you managed to make it this far in life, when CLEARLY you are too foolish to keep even a CD player from being burned to a crisp? I really want to know! Please, Mike, tell me.
From Me to Steve *******:
I’m sorry if I upset you by bumping the price up to $63. Let’s just call it $60. Deal?
From Steve ******* to Me:
…how are you this dumb?
From Me to **********@********.org:
Hey,
I am leaving for London on business and need to sublet my studio apartment immediately. It is a beautiful spacious apartment in the East Village (near Tompkins Square Park). Rent is $1750/month and you can move in as soon as February 25th. Please let me know if you are interested.
Regards,
Mike
From Ari ****** to Me:
Hi Mike thanks for responding. A few questions: how big is the apt? how long can is the lease til? do you have any pics or a floor plan? I want to move in on mar 15- is that ok?
From Me to Ari ******:
March 15th is fine with me. The apartment is 370 square feet. I don’t have any pictures, but I have included a floor plan to give you an idea of the layout of the apartment. The lease is up in November 2011, but you have the option to renew if you wish. Please let me know if you have any more questions about the apartment.
Mike
Attachments:
From Ari ****** to Me:
Mike did you send me the wrong plan or is there really a pool in your apartment.
From Me to Ari ******:
Oh, yes. I should have mentioned the pool. I had an exercise pool installed in the apartment because I was training for a swimming marathon. It is a really nice pool. It is 39 inches deep with powerful jets and a vinyl liner. The pool is great if you like to swim.
Mike
From Ari ****** to Me:
Thats a pretty important thing to forget to mention, doncha think?! It takes up the whole f-ing apartment! How is there no bathroom?? Where am I supposed to shower and sleep?
From Me to Ari ******:
I know, it is a really nice pool. I usually use the kitchen as the bathroom. You can either pee in the sink, or out the window. The window overlooks an alley behind 5th St, and most of the time nobody walks below you. Even if you do piss on someone, you are on the 7th floor so they will probably have no idea where it came from. By the time it hits them, you will most likely be zipped up and have the window shut. The sink has a garbage disposal in case you need to take a dump.
Showering? You don’t need to shower – you have a pool! Just go for a swim any time you are trying to wash off.
Sleep? I’ve got that covered too. I have an extremely comfortable pool raft I sleep on. It is like sleeping on a waterbed! It has a couple of cup holders you can put your phone/keys/beer/whatever in. I’ll include this with the apartment for an extra $10.
I am free tomorrow if you want to check the place out and fill out the sublet papers.
Mike
From Ari ****** to Me:
Hmm well yes that does sound nice, but I am looking for a place where I dont have to shit in my sink and sleep in a goddamn pool. Come on man! Good luck finding someone to rent you’ll need it!
From Me to Ari ******:You don’t have to shit in the sink, it is just an option. You can also shit out the window, or shit in a bucket next to the window and dump it out the window. There is an Indian restaurant that backs up to the alley, so it already smells like shit down there.
At least come over and try my raft before you decide that sleeping in a pool is a bad thing. I’ll even throw in a couple of pool noodles for free.
Mike
From Ari ****** to Me:
Stop trying to sell me your POS apartment, if you can even call it that. You know what makes an apartment an apartment? A bed. Bathroom. Furnature. NOT A FUCKING POOL.
Why am I arguing with you? This is fucking ridiculous. Conversation over.
From Me to Ari ******:
Why are you so afraid of sleeping in this pool? Be honest, do you not know how to swim? If so, I can give you the number of a good lifeguard I know.
From Ari ****** to Me:
Shut the hell up. I hope you drown in your pool!
General Motors Co. is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over a suspension problem on more than 400,000 Chevrolet Impalas from the 2007 and 2008 model years, saying it should not be responsible for repairs because the flaw predated its bankruptcy.
The lawsuit, filed on June 29 by Donna Trusky of Blakely, Penn., contended that her Impala suffered from faulty rear spindle rods, causing her rear tires to wear out after just 6,000 miles.
Seeking class-action status and alleging breach of warranty, the lawsuit demands that GM fix the rods, saying that it had done so on Impala police vehicles.
But in a recent filing with the U.S. District Court in Detroit, GM noted that the cars were made by its predecessor General Motors Corp, now called Motors Liquidation Co or “Old GM,” before its 2009 bankruptcy and federal bailout.
The current company, called “New GM,” said it did not assume responsibility under the reorganization to fix the Impala problem, but only to make repairs “subject to conditions and limitations” in express written warranties. In essence, the automaker said, Trusky sued the wrong entity.
“New GM’s warranty obligations for vehicles sold by Old GM are limited to the express terms and conditions in the Old GM written warranties on a going-forward basis,” wrote Benjamin Jeffers, a lawyer for GM. “New GM did not assume responsibility for Old GM’s design choices, conduct, or alleged breaches of liability under the warranty.”
David Fink, Trusky’s lawyer, declined to comment.
John Penn, a former president of the American Bankruptcy Institute who is not involved in the case, said the question of “successor liability” is common for manufacturing companies that go through bankruptcy.
“The fact it comes up now is not a surprise, as this type of issue was widely discussed during GM’s bankruptcy,” said Penn, now a partner at Haynes and Boone in Fort Worth, Texas. “The court will need to evaluate the claims to see if they fit within any cubbyhole of liability that New GM assumed.”
GM said an argument similar to Trusky’s failed this year in a case involving its OnStar security and navigation product.
“There are no specific factual allegations that New GM — as opposed to Old GM — did anything at all in relation to her vehicle,” Jeffers wrote. “Plaintiff here is trying to saddle new GM with the alleged liability and conduct of old GM.”
The case is Trusky v. General Motors Co., U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, No. 11-12815.
words fail…
Wow! Here’s this really, really hot coupon that you just have to print out now now now! Hurry before the print limit is reached (probably sometime in mid-2015). Seriously, I’m seeing this dumb thing posted…
Save .80 on four boxes of Hamburger Helper
and people are wetting their pants over a .20 coupon…
lord, just kill me now
Apparently it’s WAR between the foodies.
Of Guy Fieri, Bourdain says: “I look at Guy Fieri and I just think, ‘Jesus, I’m glad that’s not me.'”
Well, meow. The cattiness continues with Rachael Ray. “Does she even cook anymore? I don’t know why she bothers,” Bourdain says. “To her credit, she never said she was good at it.”
Paula Deen says she’s shocked, but is taking the high road after Anthony Bourdain called her the “most dangerous person to America” and claimed her food “sucks.”
“I was actually kind of shocked considering I’ve never met Anthony,” Deen told Fox and Friends Friday. “I know he’s never been to my home; I’ve never cooked for him. I don’t think he’s been to my restaurant. I was really shocked that such harsh words could be used.”
Bourdain said in this week’s issue of TV Guide Magazine that Deen “revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she’s proud of the fact that her food is fucking bad for you.” Deen said she has no idea what prompted Bourdain to lash out at her, but suggests it could have been a publicity stunt.
“I don’t know if it was a publicity thing or if someone had just peed in his bowl of cereal that morning and he was mad,” she said. “Anthony, dear, I’m so sorry you feel that way. I, too, am put in that position — I’m asked questions that could really get me in trouble, but I wiggle my way around them because some things are best left unsaid. Listen, come to my house, I’ll cook you a meal and if you still feel that way about me, so be it. … I’ve been around long enough to know to choose my battles and that ain’t one of them.”
For his part, Bourdain seems to regret his comments — which he claimed on Twitter were actually “worst, most dangerous to America cook on FN [Food Network].”
“Resolved: Next time I’m asked (for the millionth time) who the worst cooks on Food Network are, I’ll just shut up,” he tweeted. “Who cares?”
AUGUST 18–A Florida babysitter was arrested yesterday for felony child neglect after she loaded a stroller containing an eight-month-old boy into the back of a Dodge Ram pickup truck which then drove around on two of the area’s busiest roadways, police charge.
After receiving several 911 calls from alarmed motorists, the vehicle was approached by Daytona Beach police, who found Keyona Davis, 23, seated in the back of the truck bed next to the stroller.
The driver of the 1994 truck was identified in an arrest affidavit as “Mr. B. White,” who was cited for reckless driving.
Davis, pictured in the above mug shot, was arrested since she “should have reasonably concluded that a 8 mth old child in a stroller in the bed of a pick-up truck is a highly dangerous situation and incredibly unsafe,” according to the affidavit.
The incident, police charged, could have resulted in “serious injury or death to a child especially being driven on 2 of the most traveled roadways & intersections in the county.” It is unclear why Davis put the baby–who was not harned–in the vehicle bed instead of inside the truck’s cab.
After Davis’s arrest, cops contacted the baby’s mother, who arrived at the arrest scene and took custody of her child. The woman “was in tears as I told her about the incident,” a cop reported.
Davis is locked up in the Volusia County jail in lieu of $5000 bond. Records show that her rap sheet includes busts for car theft, cocaine possession, shoplifting, resisting arrest, criminal mischief/property damage, and fleeing law enforcement. While sentenced to 1-1/2 years on the latter two counts, she only spent spent six months in state prison before being released last January. Davis was also arrested last week for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Mother should have signed up for Tuesday’s Sittercity deal on familyFINDS!…
PARIS — An airline passenger says her Paris-to-Dublin flight was delayed nearly two hours after celebrated French actor Gerard Depardieu urinated on the plane ahead of takeoff.France’s Europe-1 radio aired an interview with the passenger, identified only by her first name Daniele, saying that Depardieu appeared inebriated and announced “’I need to piss, I need to piss.” The passenger said when the cabin crew told him to remain seated during takeoff, “he stood up and did it (urinated) on the ground.The actor is also a Paris restaurateur and the owner of a vineyard in Burgundy.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The US skiing team has dismissed an 18-year-old member of its development squad, after he was accused of getting drunk and then urinating on a fellow passenger aboard a JetBlue flight to New York City.
Robert “Sandy” Vietze was detained by police at New York’s Kennedy airport on Wednesday morning, after arriving on a red-eye flight from Portland, Oregon. He faces a federal misdemeanour charge of indecent exposure, according to the US attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
The US Ski and Snowboard Association executive vice-president of athletics, Luke Bodensteiner, said in a statement that Vietze had been dismissed from the team for conduct violations. “Based on the information we have, Sandy Vietze is in violation of the USSA code of conduct and team agreement, and has been dismissed from the team,” confirmed Bodensteiner.
Vietze was nominated to the development team this spring after excelling as an alipine skier at the Green Mountain Valley school, a top ski academy and high school in Waitsfield, Vermont, where tuition costs as much as $42,384 a year. He had been scheduled to compete on the national ski team’s developmental squad for the 2011-12 season.
A Port Authority police department detective wrote in court documents that Vietze told him he had consumed five or six beers and two rum and cola cocktails before boarding the flight. He said he passed out in his seat and awoke to find himself being yelled at by the father of a 12-year-old girl. The girl’s father told the detective that when he returned from a trip to the bathroom at 2.30 am, he found Vietze urinating on his daughter. The man described Vietze as “out of it”.
The Port Authority initially told news outlets on Thursday that federal prosecutors had decided to drop the indecent exposure charge, but a spokesman for the US attorney’s office, Robert Nardoza, said on Friday that the case is still pending. The charge carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and a possibility of up to a year in jail, although time behind bars would be very unusual in such a case.
www.guardian.co.uk
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Jetstar passenger who urinated in a plane aisle during a flight, spraying other passengers, has been let off with a warning.
The man was flying from Auckland to Singapore on Monday when he answered the call of nature about six hours into the 11-hour trip. A passenger said the man urinated on to another man’s leg and the scarf of a female passenger.
“I hear this sound of running water and then I hear a guy going ‘No, no, no, what the hell is wrong with you?’ And there’s this guy pissing in the aisle, waving back and forth,” Amos Chapple told the New Zealand Herald.
Jetstar confirmed that the crew had to “counsel and manage” a inebriated passenger who “engaged in inappropriate and disruptive behaviour. We can confirm on this occasion, our crew followed all standard procedures including confiscating alcohol brought on board and issuing an onboard warning in conjunction with advice from the captain,” the airline said in a statement. Police were not called as the passenger was no longer disruptive after being warned, the airline said.
“As per our standard procedures, an internal report has been filed and we are following standard internal process including reviewing the customer’s future suitability for travel.” Mr Chapple said he had confronted the man in Singapore but he appeared to have no idea what he had done during the flight.
Jetstar said it was in the process of contacting the customers impacted by the inappropriate behaviour to offer compensation.
and these stories will only proliferate if airlines add a fee to pee. Amtrack looks better and better…
For those of you who feel I am biased regarding Wags: Ha! I say to you.
When Jane Mendoza adopted Wally from an animal shelter six years ago, she knew the dog had special needs.
The 9-pound, 9-ounce Chihuahua mix had brain damage, skeletal issues and poor social skills. But it wasn’t until a few years later that Mendoza discovered Wally’s most troubling health issue — recurring seizures. To combat the episodes, her veterinarian prescribed an anti-seizure medicine usually given to humans, phenobarbital. It worked wonders.
For the past four years, Mendoza religiously refilled the prescription at a Walgreens in Portage Park, then fed Wally two 15-milligram tablets every day. When the pharmacist handed her a new bottle of pills in early June, Mendoza recognized immediately that something was different. “I noticed the pills were bigger than usual but was told at the pharmacy that they were using a new provider,” Mendoza said. Trusting the pharmacist, she fed Wally the pills, starting June 8.
In the days that followed, the dog grew sick and weak. He became so lethargic he would fall and was unable to get back up. After one week, Wally spent most of his time unconscious.
“One morning his breathing was so shallow and he was so limp, I thought he was dying,” Mendoza said. Desperate for answers, she compared the number engraved on the pills to the number on the bottle’s label. They didn’t match.
Mendoza took the pills back to Walgreens, where a pharmacist found that the label was correct but the pills weren’t. Instead of 15-milligram tablets, the bottle contained 60-milligram tablets. She had been giving Wally four times the phenobarbital he was supposed to receive.
Mendoza took the dog to the vet, who helped nurse him back to health.
On June 16, Mendoza called Walgreens to complain about the pill mix-up. She was given a claim number and told to contact Sedgwick CMS, Walgreens’ insurance company. Afterward, Mendoza said she called Sedgwick CMS and Walgreens repeatedly and faxed copies of veterinary bills totaling $1,335.24, but encountered cold indifference.
Mendoza said it took repeated calls in which she “made such a stink and such an ass out of myself to anybody and everybody” before someone from Sedgwick CMS called her Aug. 3 and agreed to pay the vet bills. But almost a week later, Mendoza still hadn’t seen any documentation from Sedgwick CMS or Walgreens, and she feared she would not get her money.
“This is a problem that is 100 percent Walgreens’ fault,” she said in her email to What’s Your Problem? “They almost killed my little dog.” Mendoza said Wally was likely mistreated by his previous owner and isn’t going to win any dog shows but she loves him. “He’s just a special-needs dog,” she said. “He’s not a perfect little dog, but that doesn’t mean I want him to die from an overdose of phenobarbital. He deserves to have a happy life, like any other dog.”
The Problem Solver called Walgreens spokesman Robert Elfinger on Monday afternoon. By then, Sedgwick CMS had already sent Mendoza a “release of all claims and hold harmless agreement” which she was to sign, notarize and return in order to receive her $1,335.24.
“Cases like this are rare, but when they do occur, our priority is the patient’s health and well being,” Elfinger said in an email. “In Ms. Mendoza’s situation, we’re glad that Wally is OK and have agreed to refund her for the medicine and the veterinarian bills she incurred.”
Elfinger said the mix-up has served as an educational tool for Walgreens’ pharmacists. “We’re sorry this occurred and we apologized to Ms. Mendoza,” he said. “We have a multistep prescription filling process with numerous safety checks in each step to reduce the chance of human error. Since this incident, we have re-emphasized these procedures with our pharmacy staff.”
The hold-harmless agreement arrived in Mendoza’s mailbox on Thursday, but she wasn’t happy with it. She said the agreement was unacceptable because in it, Walgreens fails to take responsibility for its mistake. She was also not happy that the agreement included a gag clause.
“They can pay me or not pay me but I’m not shutting up,” she said. “I don’t like the part about a ‘doubtful and disputed’ claim. It’s not. It was 100 percent their fault.”
The Problem Solver called Elfinger on Thursday afternoon and told him of Mendoza’s concerns. Elfinger said Friday that Walgreens will pay Mendoza the $1,335.24 even if she does not sign the agreement. Walgreens also agreed to make $5,000 donation to A.D.O.P.T. pet shelter in Naperville in Wally’s honor, with the money earmarked toward helping the shelter prepare special-needs dogs for adoption.
“I’m really very happy about this,” Mendoza said. “I think they should feel good too. It takes away my desire to say mean things about Walgreens.”
Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2011, The Problem Solver
