u/RaspberryVespa

I bought my boxed set of Voyager for $82 on sale through Amazon last Spring and it was absolutely worth it as I will not be renewing my subscription with Paramount Plus. I'd have gladly paid $100 for it. Even $125. $150+ might start giving me some hesitation, but only because I've spent so much this year ensuring that I own every series on disc now.

Warranty is only one year on new bags purchased from Dooney directly or from authorized retailers with a receipt. So if it's an older bag, repair fees and shipping to/from the repair center will be billed, but I don't know what the process is like sending back an older bag out of warranty.

I only know what it's like for new bags within warranty. For anyone curious about that, in July 2026, I had a repair done on a brand new Florentine Satchel 30 bag purchased from dooney.com that arrived with a defect in the stitching along the zipper. I'd contacted customer service through the website, and within 12 hours got a response. I exchanged a couple of emails with them, including sending a few closeup pictures of the defect and a full photo of the bag. They sent me a prepaid UPS shipping label to ship it to the repair center. I had to send the bag with detachable strap back (in case they decided to just replace the bag entirely rather than repair it), but they told me to hang onto the dust bag and warranty card. Repair and shipping were 100% covered by warranty and took a week to reach them. Two days after tracking showed delivery to them, I got an email confirming that the bag had been received and inspected and that repairs were being started and to expect it to take 4-6 weeks. 3 weeks later I got an email that repairs had been completed and that it was being packaged for shipment back to me. A few days after that, I got the tracking number, and about 5 days after that, I got the bag back. So just around 5 weeks for the entire process and the repair looked flawless.

I had treatment for my cat a few years ago. She spent 10 days at the treatment center hospital after getting her injections and being monitored by the doctor and then was to be somewhat isolated for 2-3 weeks at home while continuing to shed any remaining radiation from her system.

Guidelines said to minimally handle the cat and to wear latex gloves and to not allow the cat to stay in any room where we slept, but our doctor said that was maximum caution and not really necessary. So I kept her somewhat isolated for the first week after bringing her home, mostly to allow her to decompress from her long hospital stay and to keep the other animals out of her litter box. And then even after letting her have run of the house again, I kept her litter box off limits to the other pets the remaining few weeks.

But I pet her and held her often and there were no side effects and really no worries according to our doctor. Babies/toddlers and pregnant women or animals should avoid being close to the treated cat for the period recommended by the treatment center. Otherwise, the amount of radiation coming off the cat is less than a dental x-ray and wanes quickly over 2-3 weeks post-treatment. Not anywhere near enough radiation exposure to cause harm to a healthy adult. This all according to our treatment doctor, a very respected specialist located in San Diego.

The most important thing for us to abide by was collecting and isolating used cat litter, allowing it to sit undisturbed by other animals (wild included) for 3 full months before disposing of it in the trash for pickup. This was to avoid setting off the radiation meters at our waste disposal facility (as we are in California, which has stricter regulations than other states. I’ve heard some states have no regulation for this).

BTW, my cat was aged 12 at treatment and was hyperthyroidism free for just over two years before relapsing. This doesn’t mean the treatment didn’t work or wasn’t worth it. It did work and it was worth it! (We had two full years of her being healthier than ever without having to deal with pills that were no longer working before treatment, which would have caused her inevitable decline. So I know the radioactive iodine treatment saved and extended her life.) Relapse just means that a new thyroid tumor has popped up and started wreaking havoc on her system again. So she’s 15 now and has been back on Felimazole for almost a year since relapse. We are just now starting to have to increase her dosage, unfortunately so Felimazole may only work another year and then she’ll start to decline. I’m not going to do the treatment again because of her age and her heart (she has a stronger murmur now). I’ll just medicate her daily to try to keep it under control for as long as possible.

My cat hates the car, too, most do. But the Solensia injections have really made a difference and have absolutely changed her life for the better. I highly recommend it if your cat is a candidate for it.

Yes, I take her for her Solensia injection every 4-5 weeks on a tech appointment. My vet charges $20 for the tech appointment (which the receptionist sometimes waives for me) and it’s about $80 for the shot. I check in, sit down, the tech comes out to get her and takes her in her carrier to the back, then five minutes later they bring her back out, I pay and am on my way.

It’s been a game changer, honestly. She acts like a bouncy happy kitten for the first two weeks after her shot, and then I can tell it starts to wane a little as her energy levels calm down a bit and she starts sleeping more. She still gets the zoomies every day or every other day all month long, though, and has no trouble getting around. By week 4 she gets annoyingly vocal, I assume due to pain, so I can tell when she is due for the shot.

She gets a T4 draw every 3 months to check her thyroid levels and then a full checkup with a full senior panel every 6 months to check her T4, kidney, liver, etc. to make sure all her medication dosages are still effective and that there’s no decline in her kidney function.

My vet had me try the Solensia shot for an initial 2-3 months and then stopped for a month to see if the results were worth it. They were!

You have a Sheriff’s department overseeing your jurisdiction. Every rural area in America has a Sheriff. Call them.

Honestly your stupid irresponsible neighbor is lucky you don’t have a mind to shoot his dogs, as it’d be your right if they come onto your property. It’s not the poor dogs’ fault, it’s his. But you have the right to protect your property, your dog, and yourselves from dangerous roaming animals. Perhaps reminding him of this or having a Sheriff or Deputy remind him of this will help him realize the seriousness of his inaction and get him to contain his dogs. But you need to call authorities and report these dogs every time they do anything on your property (especially if they bite a human or go after one of your animals). Make a paper trail of complaints. Get him cited and fined for his negligence.

In the meantime, figure out a way to give your dog some space outside while keeping the dogs out/away. You have to fend off your dog’s territory from roaming dogs and wild animals, that is your responsibility.

But you don’t have to fence your entire property to keep your dog safe. You can build a fence/penned area off your back door using inexpensive cattle fencing and wood framing to help protect your dog from roaming animals. Your dog needs just enough room to be able to go outside and stand in the grass and do his business without getting attacked. Or instead of building fencing you could also buy an enclosed dog kennel run to set up outside your back door to take your dog into whenever he needs to go out. Then at least the neighbors’ dogs could not get to him while he’s outside.

The best food for them is the one they will actually eat (barring the need for a specific prescription diet, of course).

My 15 year old gets a rotation of Fancy Feast pates, either senior and kitten formulas, 2x per day. This is in addition to her dry Purina Pro senior kibble that’s in an automatic feeder that distributes small portions 4x a day so she can eat at her leisure. She is also on amplodipine as well as felimazole (she had radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism when she was 12 but the hyperthyroidism recently came back) and she gets an arthritis Solensia injection monthly. She doesn’t want to eat as much and gets more vocal and whiny towards the end of the month as the Solensia wears off. She gets her shot and her appetite gets stronger again. She also lives for Temptations treats and Churu paste.

What does your vet say?

Your mileage will vary but they’re too heavy for me to comfortably fill a bracelet full of them. So I mix a few of them in with lighter weight and smaller Pandora charms (or Trollbeads if I’m using a Trollbeads bracelet) and they’re beautiful for that.

I find most charms to be comfortable. There are some charms that I’ve found to be scratchy feeling because of the textures rubbing against my skin (for example I have a couple of flowertwig designs that just irritate me for some reason despite feeling smooth when I rub my finger over them. Yet I have other flowertwigs that are perfectly comfortable and I can wear them all day).

A few of the silvers don’t sit comfortably at all so I rarely wear them. The wood dragon unfortunately just doesn’t agree with me, despite how cute it is. I can wear most of the silvers without issue, though. So it’s kind of random, and your comfort may end up being a different experience than mine. I have sensitive wrists and lot of Pandora is uncomfortable for me, too.

Definitely a lot of brand “ambassadors” on Reddit. Most every pic I see of someone “just sharing their new charms” is one I’ve already seen on Instagram from accounts that are obviously embedded with the brand and featured on the official website through reviews or the brand’s bracelet of the day type post.

That said, the company does have VERY good customer service and the few times I’ve needed to make an exchange or get a replacement due to a defect (I’ve ordered like a hundred charms and only had a defect once!), the owner is immediately on it and makes sure that I’m taken care of.

The only thing I don’t like about going alone is not having someone with me to hold a table while I wait for my mobile food order to become ready. So I end up buying more grab and go foods/things that are easy to eat while walking or sitting on a bench or planter ledge if open, clean tables are lacking. Otherwise, going alone is great!! You can do whatever you want whenever you feel like doing it and don’t have to take anyone else’s options/wants/needs into account. It’s actually liberating. Try to look at it that way. I hope you enjoy your solo trip!

My dog gets her pills in a little wet cat food meatball. She gulps it down. No issues ever.

This is correct! Elfbeads have a core opening as large as Pandora charms to fit any Pandora bracelet, threaded included. Trollbeads tend to have a much smaller core opening, though I have a few Trollbeads that can fit on threadless Pandora bracelets.

It’s very good quality and some beautiful designs, but the beads are large and heavy, like too heavy to wear a bracelet full of them IMO.

I can only wear 2-4 max mixed with a few smaller beads or silvers on a bracelet. They have a large profile so stand up a little higher than Pandora Murano beads.

What everyone else already said. But also… Is she a tech or just the receptionist? If the latter, why would a receptionist take initiate to respond with medical guidance without getting instruction/approval from the vet in the first place?? THAT needs to be brought up to the vet.

Mine came from the dealership in Cathedral City! I bought it new sight unseen and it was transferred to my local dealership — meaning some dickhead went and picked it up and then drove it back to my dealership, putting something like 65 miles on it. He blew out the front passenger speaker, too. 😒

I finally get to take delivery of it just as the dealership is closing up for the night. So I pull out of the parking lot (which they gated up and locked as soon as I left), turn up the radio like not even half way and it starts crackling like crazy. 😑 I had to take it back the next day and they kept it for two more days while they fixed it.

I had to change the throttle body at 56k miles but otherwise haven’t had any real problems. Just stupid headache maintenance because of the stupid CVT.

Could you imagine what could have happened had that been detected by the carrier and the package seized for illegal contraband!!?? YIKES.

Interesting that the ones you’ve seen have been predominantly Bordeaux! When I was researching earlier this year I felt like most complaints I saw were on red and the common browns (Natural and Chestnut) and marked as “good” condition. Most complaints seemed to be about multiple deep scratches/gouges that wouldn’t come out, and how the bag should have been marked as fair instead of good. And yet all the posts about fair condition purchases said their bags arrived looking practically new with no issues!

I assume that you have a CVT, and are you driving to Vegas from So Cal?

I’m in So Cal and have the same concerns about driving north on the 15 anytime I know I’ll be on the road for more than an hour—this despite having driven my 2011 cross country 6 times in past years and having driven to Las Vegas and back multiple times (though most of that was in earlier days of ownership). Every time I drive up the 15 on a hot day, I get extremely anxious about the CVT whine and that light possibly coming on.

I’d say that as long as your fluid is good, it’s not over 85 degrees out and you keep your driving speed at 70mph or under, you may be fine and can make it without seeing that light come on.

What’s difficult is the constant incline of the freeway heading that direction. Being on that incline for so damn long combined with the transmission pushing past 2000 rpgs, it really causes a lot of heat buildup because the transmission fluid can’t circulate properly and it’s really hard on a Patriot’s CVT.

Based on everything I’ve ever read, I believe that the issue is due to the shitty design of the transmission and when driving on even a slight incline consistently for 60+ minutes, the fluid isn’t able to circulate as it should, so it overheats. And when that warning light comes on, you MUST immediately pull over and stop, hopefully on a somewhat level surface, and let it sit idling in neutral for 5-10 minutes to give the fluid a chance to circulate properly again and that light to turn off. Once the light turns off, you can start driving again. But if it’s an extremely hot day or you’re driving too fast, it will happen again in 10-20 minutes. So ease off the gas! Stay in the right lane, get behind a semi and just take it easy at 60 mph.

You can get the transmission fluid and filters changed before you go (and if its been 30k miles or more since the last change, you definitely should), BUT they have to change BOTH filters: the one in the transmission pan AND the one in the inline cooler.

In my model, the second one sits beneath the battery tray. Shops never want to touch this one for some stupid reason. So if you have some confidence, you can change this one out yourself after you go get a fluid change at the shop. There are several decent YouTube videos showing how to do it.

So I just had my transmission fluid and filters changed again by my mechanic on Sunday (I’d just had them done 15 months ago, and had added only 8k miles since), at the same time I got my oil changed and engine coolant flushed and refilled. I’ve had only one incident with the transmission overheating this year luckily and it was during a long drive on the 91 during the heatwave a few weeks ago.

He said the transmission fluid itself was really clean and was probably fine, but the inline cooler filter was SUPER DIRTY. So I decided that I’m going to just start changing that out myself every 6 months or so and then change the transmission fluid and pan filter once every two years (I don’t put a lot of miles on the car, so this should be easily sufficient).

If interested, I can dig out a YouTube link that shows how to change it out (part of a full video showing a transmission fluid and both filter changes) along with the part number for the filter. A filter only costs like $15 from any auto part store.

I have a beagle mix and the best way that I have found to control intense shedding is to bathe them with dog shampoo AND dog conditioner (two products, not just a shampoo that’s 2 in 1) once a month.

You can also do a daily brushing between baths but the conditioner is really key to remove all the loose hair during a bath. Leave it on at least five minutes and while it’s sitting, use a silicon brush (Kong makes a Zoom Groom tool that works super well) to gently work the conditioner through the fur and loosen/remove loose hairs. So much hair comes off, and keeps coming off, and keeps coming off some more. But after you rinse and dry, the hair on everything issue really improves drastically. There is still shedding, always will be, but over time it becomes less and less.

I dry my dog by first rubbing her all over with a towel (which pulls even more loose hair out) and then I blow dry her on warm/low until she’s almost dry. She then likes to lay in the sun to dry the rest of the way. (And when blow drying, I am super careful not to burn her. I keep my hand on her fur between her and the blow dryer so that I can feel if it gets too hot, with the blow dryer nozzle at least 6-8 inches away and I keep it moving!)

My dog is super sensitive and has allergies so I have to be careful with what I put on her. She tolerates the Buddy Wash lavender and mint shampoos and conditioners really well. (To clarify, it’s 2 products, a separate shampoo and conditioner and not just one bottle that’s a 2-in-1). No issues with her skin getting dried out or flakey, no irritation, and her fur feels sooo soft for weeks after her bath. And it smells good, too. But if she has any hot spots, sores or irritation at all (she is highly allergic to mosquitoes and fleas and will breaks out in hives if bit) then I use Veterinary Formula Antiseptic and Anti-fungal medicated shampoo and the coordinating conditioner instead. And also, I only bathe her once a month to avoid damaging her skin as more than once a month is not really good for dogs.

Coyote Roller is what fits the bill. It is installed along the top of a 6ft or higher fence, angled out, and if an animal hits it trying to jump or climb over, it spins and rolls them back giving them no ability to get traction to get over the fence.

Never barb wire!! 😅 Jeez.

I’ve seen this posted before, like 6 months ago by someone else. 😒

This was called “feathered bangs” in the 70s and 80s.

I’ve seen mostly good stories about buying preloved, even when marked as Fair (lots of reviews have said their fair bags came near perfect), but I’ve heard some bad stories, too.

I took a chance and bought a preloved Micro in very good condition back in July and it arrived pretty close to perfect. They stamped a little “04” in black dye onto the red lining at the bottom of the interior, though. It’s to mark it as nonreturnable, so that you can’t buy a preloved and a regular retail at the same time, and then turn around and return the preloved on the regular retail receipt. So I get it, though I wish they disclosed the stamp in the listing rather than it coming as a surprise.

When I saw it I was like what the heck is this? It was a smeared partial stamping so I couldn’t tell if it was done on purpose or on accident and a defect or what and not too many had reported the stamps in any review I’d seen. So I was a little confused until I posted about it here and got feedback from some others that their preloved bags had it, too.

I don’t mind it much. I typically forget that it’s even there, and I really like this bag and saved about $90 if I recall correctly off the usual sale price. But … I probably won’t buy preloved again. I just don’t like the gamble with it being final sale and not knowing if there is any real damage ahead of time.

I feel that a vet should at least give all the options and possible outcomes so that you can weigh the costs, if you are open to hearing them. Not everyone can afford expensive diagnostics, and not everyone values extending a cat’s life when the cat is already 15, though, so I get why some vets don’t readily suggest further effort.

With cancer-like symptoms, they see it so often that usually they just know when things are looking grim and they want to save you heartache, time, money, and needless suffering for the animal by setting the expectation that its pretty much game over. But also, sometimes they see it so often that they will write off an animal that’s not quite ready to go yet. So it’s up to you to push for the information. Get option A, B, and C so that you can make an informed decision.

It usually takes some serious money to do further diagnostic testing and treatment and many owners will scoff at the cost. But as a pet parent that WILL spend money on an aging pet, it’s quite frustrating when I am not given all available options. So I always press for all options and ask for details about what ongoing treatment, recovery and subsequent life expectancy could look like, and if I ask questions that they don’t really know how to answer, I will ask them to reach out to colleagues who are more experienced in cats or ask for a referral to a specialist.

At my vet (I’m in a HCOL area), full body ultrasounds for a cat run around $800 and it is done in-house but performed by a third party specialist that will come in to assist the practice. (Our vet will also perform ultrasounds but only on acute situational basis.) For full body exploratory diagnostics, I’m glad they pull in a specialist that is practiced enough to spot issues in the scans that a general vet may not. A lot of general vets are more dog centric, and are not as solid when it comes to cats. But not a lot of practices have this option or this kind of relationship to provide such a service. But they should still be able to refer you out if you want to confirm that it’s indeed a terminal cancer situation before making any end of life decisions.

I wouldn’t trust any listings on resale sites that are too low/much less than that to be authentic.

The winter holidays are coming up if you celebrate any of them… maybe request gift certificates from family and friends to put towards a pair.