Hello Pet Talkers (small update post 25)

[snakemama]

I've tried to avoid doing this, but I have reached a point of desperation and I'm not sure what to do next. I haven't been around much for the last few months, and here's why...

My husband dumped me in November. As far as I knew things were fine...since we had two incomes, I had been working only part-time and going to school for some time. Suddenly, I was kicked out and left to find a place to live with a part-time income. Eventually, I was forced to move back in with my parents (which isn't all that bad, we get along fine, but I never wanted to be here in my 30s, that's fur sure).

Since my husband left, I feel as though I have been hemorrhaging money. I am in need of some serious dental work, which I have postponed indefinitely because I simply cannot pay for it. Jasper needs some serious dental work....thank goodness my vet is also my employer and will take small payments on that. My car's transmission died on Friday while I was in the middle of nowhere, and when the tow truck driver arrived to pick up the car today he pointed out that I also have very serious damage to one of my tires that is going to need immediate attention once the transmission is fixed. I feel like bills are pouring in from all sides, on top of the thousands of dollars I've spent in legal fees getting the divorce processed.

My savings are gone, my debt is going up. I've been selling off my jewelry, my kitchen appliances, my electronics, anything I can think of. I've taken on as many hours at work as they are willing to give me, plus a side job on Fridays and Saturdays. I've been taking on pet-sitting clients as often as I can and asking them to refer me to their friends and family. I've cancelled every recurring bill except my car insurance any my cell phone (which I need for pet-sitting contacts since we don't have a house phone here). I broke my own heart by selling Grendel, my indigo snake. Today I applied at a place that will pay me for plasma and bone marrow donations if I qualify. I've stopped fostering kittens for the time being because their KMR intake was getting too expensive.

I am not just sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I am trying everything I can think of to get myself out of this hole, and I'm getting desperate. I'm also open to suggestions if anyone can think of something else I should be doing. If I can't get caught up soon, I'm going to drop out of school and find a higher paying job, but I'm hoping to make that my absolute last resort.

I know I'm not as cute and fuzzy as some of the pets we've fund-raised for here on PT, but I know I've seen some miracles worked here, and I'm hoping for just a little leg up. I promise that anyone who gets me their address will get a hand-written thank-you note from me, and I absolutely promise to pass along the kindness when I am out of this hole and someone else needs help.

http://www.youcaring.com/emergency-f...penses-/300808

Thank you for taking the time to read this, sorry to be a downer, I just don't know what else to do right now.

[snakemama]

To whomever the anonymous donor is who gave within five minute of me posting this up, thank you so much!

[Karen]

You will be in our prayers, so sorry to hear this! So sorry to hear about Grendel, but I know you sold him to a good home.

[snakemama]

You will be in our prayers, so sorry to hear this! So sorry to hear about Grendel, but I know you sold him to a good home.

Thank you Karen!

Oh boy, did Grendel ever go to a good home! The man who bought him was practically bouncing on his heels the whole time we talked. He has a female indigo at home, so in a few weeks Grendel may have a new wife. It eased the heartache a little knowing that he was with someone who could love and appreciate him properly.

[Felicia's Mom]

You will be in my prayers.

[snakemama]

A big thank you to Freckles, Elyse, and Felicia's Mom. I love the PT family.

[Karen]

Thank you Karen!

Oh boy, did Grendel ever go to a good home! The man who bought him was practically bouncing on his heels the whole time we talked. He has a female indigo at home, so in a few weeks Grendel may have a new wife. It eased the heartache a little knowing that he was with someone who could love and appreciate him properly.

Aww, sounds perfect! You should send him Grendel's Pet of the Day page! http://petoftheday.com/archive/2010/May/25.html and tell him to nominate his female i he wants!

[snakemama]

Great idea Karen, I sent him an email!!

Thank you again to all of the wonderful PTers who have messaged, emailed, and donated. I love this family.

I'm supposed to have a house-sitting job this weekend for two delightfully spunky Labradors! One of them should be at my work tomorrow so I'll confirm with his mom that we're still on. A friend of mine offered to pay me to help her clean and declutter her home, which I'd be delighted to help with even for free, so that's promising too.

Unfortunately, the mechanic was unable to determine what's wrong with my car. When he scanned it, the error that came up was related to the solenoid (??), which is apparently working fine. (I don't know anything about cars so I'm just repeating what I think he said) He reset the error somehow, and the car worked fine for about a mile, then threw the same error, and apparently the car's computer told the solenoid to turn off again. So now he has to figure out what the computer is doing? I don't know, I'll call him tomorrow and hopefully get more information.

[Karen]

Great idea Karen, I sent him an email!!

Thank you again to all of the wonderful PTers who have messaged, emailed, and donated. I love this family.

I'm supposed to have a house-sitting job this weekend for two delightfully spunky Labradors! One of them should be at my work tomorrow so I'll confirm with his mom that we're still on. A friend of mine offered to pay me to help her clean and declutter her home, which I'd be delighted to help with even for free, so that's promising too.

Unfortunately, the mechanic was unable to determine what's wrong with my car. When he scanned it, the error that came up was related to the solenoid (??), which is apparently working fine. (I don't know anything about cars so I'm just repeating what I think he said) He reset the error somehow, and the car worked fine for about a mile, then threw the same error, and apparently the car's computer told the solenoid to turn off again. So now he has to figure out what the computer is doing? I don't know, I'll call him tomorrow and hopefully get more information.

You spelled it right, so you can google solenoid to get more info, and if you Google that term, and your car's make and model, you may find others with a similar issue - worth a shot!

[Lady's Human]

Find out what the code is (OBD II codes are a letter and 4 digits) and either search car forums for the answer to the issue, or post it here and I'll see if it's something I've run across.

The transmission may need a reflash of the computter which runs it, that will occasionally produce problems with the solenoids (electro-magnetic switches which control shifting).

As far as tires go, search Craigslist. There are normally used tires with a decent amount of tread left that people sell for about 1/4 of what a new tire would cost.

[snakemama]

Hi LH, the code was P0753, my car is a 1996 Celica. I've been searching and it looks like it could be anything from dirty transmission fluid to the computer itself to a rusty solenoid, though the transmission shop said the solenoid itself seemed fine.

Thanks for the tip about the tire! As soon as I get the car back, that will be my first project. It looks as though someone hit my car while it was parked in front of the house, and caused a significant tear on either side of the one tire.

[Lady's Human]

Hi LH, the code was P0753, my car is a 1996 Celica. I've been searching and it looks like it could be anything from dirty transmission fluid to the computer itself to a rusty solenoid, though the transmission shop said the solenoid itself seemed fine.

Thanks for the tip about the tire! As soon as I get the car back, that will be my first project. It looks as though someone hit my car while it was parked in front of the house, and caused a significant tear on either side of the one tire.

I'd start with the tranny fluid, not a flush, drop the pan and change the fluid and the filter.

[snakemama]

Today the transmission shop was unable to reproduce the error, so if they can't get it back by Friday I'm just going to take it home, and my little brother has offered to come by and change the fluid for me. Fingers crossed that that's all it is!

I'd start with the tranny fluid, not a flush, drop the pan and change the fluid and the filter.

[Lady's Human]

Today the transmission shop was unable to reproduce the error, so if they can't get it back by Friday I'm just going to take it home, and my little brother has offered to come by and change the fluid for me. Fingers crossed that that's all it is!

If your brother changes the fluid, I'd suggest putting a bottle of tranny fluid treatment in, letting it run up to temp a couple times, and then changing the fluid. That way the fluid treatment can clean out the gunk from the valve body and soldnoids and you wind up with clean fluid in the pan.

In addition, I found what looks like a decent Celica forum, might want to pose the question here:

http://www.toyotacelicas.com/forums/...th-generation/

[snakemama]

Thanks for the link to the forum, LH! I'm picking up the car on Monday, which will be nice because the truck I'm borrowing gets VERY bad gas mileage.

I'm house-sitting this weekend for two silly Labradors...I wasn't thinking when I agreed to this gig that Jasper has just had surgery and is not supposed to run or play for two weeks! So this weekend will be lots of juggling trying to keep Jasper settled while keeping the labs (one of whom is only 9 months old) entertained. Wish me luck!!