Something I learned about cars and dogs...

[undeterred]

So a few weeks ago I bought some coffee on the way to the dog park. My dog got all excited when we pulled in and while jumping up and down he landed on my cup of coffee, knocking the lid off and splashing about a third of the coffee all over the console. The radio and CD player immediately stopped working. It was hot coffee but my dog didn't seem to notice and he wasn't hurt.

The car sounded a little funny whenever I started it after that. The radio and cd player started working again after a few days. Then on Saturday, the car wouldn't start when I was away from home. I had it towed to a service station.

Apparently the starter has been running all the time for the few weeks since the dog-coffee incident. Now the starter and the ignition switch have to be replaced. We're over $600. The car is worth more than that, but I don't have the money. Sure tops all the chewing he's done in the last 6 months.

I don't go to the mechanic until something stops working. I'd have to have 3 times my current salary to do that. As with health care, prevention would have been cheaper. But you have to be able to afford prevention.

[applegrove]

1. But the love of a dog is worth it eh?

[Tobin S.]

2. I remember your post the other day about this

Have you been able to get to work since your car broke down?

[undeterred]

3. I have had to take the bus the last few days

which is spectacularly inconvenient. The shortest possible point to point trip is just under an hour, but some of my one way trips have been two and a half hours.

And the dog is not getting to the dog park to run off steam so he is wild and crazy. I leash walk him but he needs play time and there is no way for him to get it without going to the park.

[marzipanni]

4. I don't know if you have a bike,

or live in an area where you could exercise your dog this way, but these sound good! I've seen them on other sites for $37.95 but that's still pretty expensive so I'm going to ask my husband if he can make one for our dog.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002MQJJW/ref=s9_simx_gw_s4_p79_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0GPSB23DDETHDWHAKWTP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Good luck with your car! I used to get weird electrical problems in my old car; sometimes I would be lucky to find it was just a blown fuse.

[undeterred]

5. A starter alone usually isn't expensive

but I guess you have to take the whole damn steering column apart to reinstall an ignition switch. So its the labor more than the parts. I have a mechanic I trust- I used to work for him.

I don't have a bicycle but I know a couple of people who ride along with their dogs. We both need the exercise. Thanks for the link.