Thursday, February 17, 2011

The New Journey..........a Trade??.........



The initial series Wrapping Up a Difficult Summer that led to this series.

Part One

While I certainly had hoped that BG would respond to that last email so I could get more of his perspective for my case, I really didn't expect it. I knew they probably thought they were sitting there with an ace in the hole having those signed papers. I figured it wouldn't be until they learned I was now the one with the ace in the hole that I would hear anything from BG or WF.

I suspect had the papers transferred as they expected, they just would have kept the horse and ignored me thinking I would go away. Even if I hadn't been able to correct the error I'd made in prematurely signing the papers, I probably would have used everything I had to try to correct this situation but we'll never know for sure.

I sent that email on January 23 of last year. It was sometime in February when I got a call on my cell phone from WF. I let it go to voicemail because I was way too angry to have a conversation with her and I had Dave return her phone call.

In between these two events I had been talking about the situation to MD and GD. I wanted them to know this conflict might cause an issue for them and they should probably be looking for a place to move their horses.

MD and GD had known all along that BG and WF had kept the signed papers they were supposed to have returned to me. They were not privy to the information that I could stop the transfer by cancelling the original paperwork. I had kept that information to myself.

Now that I had cancelled the papers, I wanted them to be prepared for any fallout that came their way so I let them know what I had done. I also showed them the email I'd received from BG with all of jos claims of charges. They even agreed that he didn't even charge his clients for some of those services and that they were aware of the many days that horses were not worked. They led me to believe they agreed with me that BG still owed a considerable amount of money on this horse.

You'd think all that information would have been enough for them to want to distance themselves from the situation. Imagine my surprise to hear MD say that they weren't going to get involved. While she said they would testify for me if it came to that, they thought they'd be just fine where they were.

It was hard for me to understand why MD and GD would want to do business with someone who operates like BG and WF let alone someone who was pretty much trying to steal a horse from me. I would never support anyone's business who was taking advantage of someone in my family but that was the position they took.

While I didn't like it, it is her life and she gets to live it like she chooses. I do not try to pressure my children into living their lives on my terms so I just left it at that but it really did make things more difficult.

It was obvious to me if WF and BG wanted to "talk" that they must know the papers they had tried to negotiate with the registry were not good. I assumed that they had heard from the registry they would need the duplicates to complete a transfer I was a little bit surprised that the had their answer this quickly. AHA is not known for such a speedy response concerning issues of any kind but it was obvious something had changed if they wanted to talk.

When Dave returned WF's phone call, he found she wanted a meeting to sit down and discuss the situation. I think it was at this first encounter that WF told Dave they would return Storm to me if I returned the boxer puppy that had been part of that payment to them.

A little back history here, they knew when I got this dog that I always chain my dogs outside when we're working because we live within 500 feet of the most dangerous highway in the state and our pasture fencing is not going to keep a dog in. I even spoke to BG about this fact when I signed that purchase agreement on the puppy and saw a reference to keeping a dog "chained". His response was not to worry that was not the kind of "chained" they meant. It was a dog living on a chain that was the issue. Not one put on a chain from time to time to keep it safe.

This is actually the second boxer I have gotten through WF and that first one was chained exactly the same way. Now WF was saying they could really take the dog back anyway because I was keeping the dog on a chain. The implication was they were going to get the dog one way or the other, so I might as well trade for the horse. Dave told WF he didn't think I would agree to such a trade but he'd talk to me and let her know.

Before Dave had his meeting with WF I had instructed him to tell her we needed a detailed accounting of the work that BG. When WF made the offer to exchange Storm for my boxer, he didn't think to ask her about an accounting so that part was not done.

Dave called me right after he left the meeting with WF and he was furious. I doubt she had seen his reaction because he told me it didn't really hit him until he was inside his car. He might have been at the other end of a phone line but I swear I could smell the smoke. Dave was hot..........burning hot. No one was gonna take his dog.

By the time he arrived home, I was probably as hot as Dave. I don't know about you, but for me, my pets are important to me, just like my horses. I wasn't going to give up my dog, that had become part of our family, because BG hadn't fulfilled his contract with me. That didn't make any sense to me at all.

I have a pretty good sense of the law so I knew what they were asking was out of line. The way I saw it was this contract on the horse was no different than a contract on a home, car, truck , boat, etc. If you quit making your payments, you lose the asset and forfeit any right to money paid.

I also believed that while the puppy may have been a partial payment on the horse, the purchase agreement for that puppy really had no bearing on the contract of the horse. They are two different agreements and any settlement would have to be made independently.

The fact they were trying to get this horse for a fraction of what he was worth had made me made. Now the fact they'd tried to manipulate the situation by saying they could take my dog because she spends some time on a chain to keep her safe just made me all the madder.

By this time I'd have enough of these two and I was not about to let them walk all over me. I was not giving up my dog AND I wasn't going to quit until the contract with the horse was made right.

If BG and WF thought they were going to manipulate me into some form of compliance to their wishes, they had better think again and they better be smart and quit playing games. All they were doing was making me angrier and angrier and with that anger came the motivation I needed to keep me focused getting justice. I didn't know how I was going to do it but I was going to make them accountable.

If a dragon had been unleashed over the email with the bogus claims of how the horse had been paid, I don't know what would appropriately describe this anger I now felt. All I can say is it was growing at a rate that should have set off the fire alarms in my house.

To be continued.................

A Little Input...... A Request

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18 comments:

  1. I liked your blog so much more when you talked about your horses :-)

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  2. Um, patchworkfibers, she is telling a horse story. You need to pay attention.

    I am fairly familiar with show dogs and there is no way an unproven puppy is worth the agreed to price for Storm.

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  3. Okay, with all due respect to your dog, they were willing to settle for a boxer in lieu of a $30k horse?? (shaking head). Now with that said, my dogs are very much family, too, and would not be negotiable, but it is interesting that they went that route.

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  4. I'm a little confused, but maybe this part is still coming--did they say they'd give Storm back for the puppy and call it even? Or, was it to give Storm back for the puppy and you owed them money for training? That is a very cute puppy. I'm pretty attached to my dogs--they're like family. I can see why you didn't want to part.

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  5. Oooooooh, productive anger!! It's a good thing!! and a strong motivator!! It's almost like they are chewing their own leg, lol.
    That's what I'm thinking, why should you owe them anything when they have broken the contract?? They had this in mind from the get-go also. I mean the part about the dog being chained.
    Glad to know you and Dave are on the same page.

    I once bought a pick-up truck on condition of selling my tri-plex to the salesman's sister. It's all quite a story, but 4 months later, it all fell through, and I ended up turning the truck back in. When they they finally called and asked me to return it, they offered me my $500 down payment back. I would not have asked for it, as I had put 15,000 miles on the truck. So when I offered the keys, I asked for the $500, to which the reply was that I had to return the title to the truck to get the $500. I said 'well if you expect me to believe that you gave me the title to a $17,000 for $500 then I'll keep the truck.' He went and got the check. Shame on them for trying to scam me. It's so crazy I wouldn't have believed it. . . . they must'a really thought I was stupid, lol, I guess they couldn't imagine that I would have willingly returned the truck with out them offering me the $500 back. Can't help but enjoy when the scammer outsmarts himself!!

    For patchworkfibers: here's hoping your life is always a bowl of cherries, unfortunately others of us have to deal with uncomfortable realities from time to time. Ms Martyr is right, MiKael IS telling a horse story. An amazing one at that. Please continue, MiKael.

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  6. PWF, to be honest, me too! The horses are much more fun to write about that this stuff. Unfortunately this is part of the industry too and I think it's an important story. I promise I'll be back to posting horses stories and the first will be the rehabilitation process for this horse.

    Ms Martyr, I know you're admited to being addicted but she does have a point. LOL

    I suppose they thought if I was getting my horse back, then they should get their puppy back. It just wasn't the way I saw it.

    Tammy, I think that was WF. She hadn't really wanted to give this female puppy up in the first place. I was told she had been evaluated as an outstanding individual. I have to wonder if BG was fond of this idea. From what I heard he was very upset at the prospect of loosing this horse.

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  7. This is getting crazier all the time.
    Unbelievable~!

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  8. Linda, it was me getting the horse, them getting the puppy and calling it even. It felt like a punishment to me, for something he had done.

    The puppy had special significance to me because she is related to the boxer I had lost to cancer. No way I was going to give her up.

    dinkleberries, I guess chewing off their own leg sounds about right. There's still more of that coming.

    Sounds like your dealer had similiar ethics. Not good. Glad you got them to pay up.

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  9. Wow, these guys really hae some nerve!!! Only when they found out you were not going to lie fdown and be a doormat were they willing to talk! then still seemed to be of the belief they could have what they wanted for a fraction of the price ,simply because they wanted it ??? Good luck with that ! Glad you got angry and used that anger wisely

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  10. Fantastyk, yes, I thought there were lots of crazy things about this experience.

    fern, if this bothers you, believe me when I say it gets worse.

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  11. Trading a puppy for an expensive horse. That's stupid idea, it just doesn't make any sense. I wouldn't give the dog back either and by the way she's adorable.(My brother just had to put his boxer down because of cancer too). You ought to think about breeding her and selling the pups (not to them or their clients).

    Anyway I could see why you would be smoking. It seems to me they were being as spiteful as possible trying to get your goat. I'm hoping eventually your daughter and granddaughter see the light and everyone makes things right.

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  12. Im just in utter disbelief - what would make them think that not only is the dog worth 30K (no offense), but to take away both YOUR horse and YOUR dog because THEY were complete asshats just blows my mind. Because HE didnt fullfil his part of the contract, YOU have to suffer?? I would be absolutely FURIOUS. NO ONE takes my animals away from me because of their pride. WTF?

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  13. This is crazy, I cant believe they keep trying to think that they worked off the price of Storm! Ridiculous, and good for getting angry, sometimes thats necessary when things dont go right. Glad Dave is in on it too.

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  14. I agree with everyone else, there is no doubt in my mind that's a great dog but no way could she be worth $30K. Has she even been in a show? The nerve!

    It pains me that you're still on the outs with your daughter and granddaughter, but I'm sure your daughter has her own side of the story to tell. I ended up not speaking to my mother for two years until we finally patched things up enough to speak every few months. Unfortunately that's probably the best that it's ever going to be.

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  15. I got nothing...The only thing that comes to mind is...R.e.a.l.l.y? (wondered in a rather dazed and confused tone) It just seems like such a strange request.

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  16. Arlene, well I suppose they thought I would be getting the better end of the deal because the horse is worth more than the dog.

    I do feel like it was a spiteful thing and had nothing to do with what was right. It was more a "well, if we have to give back the horse, then you have to give back the dog."

    PHM, that's pretty much the way I see it.

    Crystal, I don't really think they believed they'd worked off the price of the horse. I do think they thought they could get away with saying that they had.

    smazourek, because the dog is less value than the horse, I think, like I said above, it was more about if we have to give up the horse, then you give up the dog.

    As for my daughter, sure she has her side of the story, just like BG and WF do. As far as I'm concerned the real question is, is she sincere, or is she manipulating things to suit her needs. When this is done, you can make your own decision. I have already made mine.

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  17. Oh my gosh. Do you ever read fugly horse of the day? Today's post is about some psycho who killed his wife's horse and the trainer's that he thought she was having an affair with.
    Commenter Number 3 to this post talks about mental abuse and it sounds almost exactly like what BG was doing to you. Eerie.

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  18. BECG, ya, it does but then lots about this was strange if you ask me.

    Ms Martyr, interesting. I don't usually read FUGLY but I may have to check it out.

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