Peter Vieira
Wow, you're reading this? Thanks! If you're into RC cars and I seem vaguely familiar, it's because I spent over 25 years writing and editing RC car news, reviews, and tech articles in print and online. What else, what else ... I have a degree in Film Studies (useless), most of a degree in Graphic Design (useful), and I'm married to a wonderful woman with horrible taste in men. Thanks to her, we have a terrific daughter who just earned her Journalism degree and is way, waaay more together that I was at her age. Or right now.
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When did Mercedes change the spelling of her first name?
Also Mercedes F that guy .
I did not! It looks like Pete made a small typo and none of us noticed it. It should be fixed now. 🙂
Name and shame!
I actually have no idea who the guy was. I was told his name maybe once? I also wasn’t told which animal rescue he volunteers for. It was legit a random guy with a clipboard.
I cannot stand animal “rescues” who insist on doing a home inspection. Having new carpet and an 8ft fence has not a damn thing to do with whether a dog, cat, chicken, rabbit, etc… will have a good life. I sure as hell wouldn’t trust or allow anyone to come into my home and judge if I can be a loving, responsible pet owner.
When my wife volunteered for a dog rescue, the organization actually preferred homes with stained carpet and some imperfections. In their experience, a family with perfect carpet and a pristine home was more likely to send the dog to a shelter almost immediately after the pup had an accident on the floor or scratched the furniture.
When we had Malort, we just cleaned the stains the best we could and moved on. It’ll cost me money in the future, but it was worth it.
I heard there are kill shelters that do this, like WTF, as long as they don’t seem like someone who abuses animals and they seem to get along, it’s not time for pickiness.
Oh, Mercedes, I’m so sorry. That guy’s obviously a bigot. Your home may not be perfect, but as long as there’s love and no overt danger, you should be allowed the adoption.
A word on animal resues that are picky about who adopts: They’re stepping on their own feet and preventing animals from going to good homes, while not having sufficient room to take in other animals. They may be no-kill shelters, but their policies are directly responsible for animals being put to death elsewhere. A fenced yard is not a reasonable requirement. I have neighbors who take their dogs out on leashes. Take a hint from Humane Colorado: mandatory education about what the person is getting into and if they still want it, fine. Room for more animals.
SWG, it’s really nice that you are willing to help out your neighbors like that. Looking forward to seeing more about the Nash.
I will say that it’s been a joy to wrench on.
I just need to constantly remind myself to put the wrenches down and grab my phone with oily hands to take photos for the story!
Thanks for the ckind words, Spikersaurus!
Amazes me that people take pictures while they’re wrenching normally!
Thank God for them, but that’s not me…
Shelters are often strange about apartments, especially if you don’t have direct access to the outdoors (e.g. a first-floor unit with a door to the outside) for walkies and bio breaks.
They also want to see there is enough space for the adoptee to be able to get some exercise inside and there are no dangerous conditions. Maybe he felt having the scooter inside was not safe for some reason (e.g. it contains petrol).
In any case he’s a jackass who shouldn’t be in that job.
I am beyond words, Mercedes. What an jackass.
Sadly, I have an educated guess as to why, and it has nothing to do with the state of your home. That was just the asshole’s excuse.
<HUGE HUG>
This. 99% probability he’s just a bigot and this has nothing to do with the dog or your apartment.
Bingo!!!!
I have been on the receiving end of this sort of bigotry.
99% is generous. I try to assume good intentions absent evidence of outright malice, but in this case? That dude is a bigot with power and no accountability. I hope he steps on a Lego every day until the end of his life.
Getting in line behind you for the internet hugs. I had the same suspicion myself.
We got shut down by a local Greyhound rescue by a woman who kept insisting that the breed is “Special Needs”. Yes, they have some unique characteristics to be aware of – no flea collars is a neat one – but when you tell the parents of a disabled child that they aren’t good enough for the “Special Needs” dog, you absolutely deserve the earful my wife delivered. It was truly a slow clap moment and I was so proud.
And then we went to another rescue group and got an awesome Greyhound who stayed with us for the next 8 years.
Mercedes, I am sorry to hear about your adoption story. But I gotta say who the hell do these dog adopting people think they are? The most judgemental people out there that think that dogs are gods gift to earth and only deserve the best. I would have choice words for those people.
Just remember, that Spree will always love you!
So sorry you had to go through that, Mercedes. A lot of the small, private rescues can be… weird, and not in a good way. Echoing several other comments, when you are ready, try a bigger local shelter, or if you are willing maybe try fostering. Some of the best matches I’ve ever seen came about as “foster failures”. Most big shelters usually have animals of all ages who need anything from medical recovery, to behavior help, to simply a break from the shelter environment. As a foster, you really get the time to get to know the animal and whether they’re a good fit for you and vice-versa; even if they aren’t, the time out of the shelter usually makes them much more adoptable when they return. Source for all this: I’ve worked for a large, non-government shelter for almost 17 years (and was a volunteer before that). I’m the IT guy now, but I’ve worked for or closely with several other departments including Adoptions, Behavior and Animal Care in various hands-on roles.
Well, that’s extremely unfortunate news about Naomi. Unfortunately this world is full of judgmental people, and he clearly was if the encounter lasted less than a minute.
Also, SWG, I drug my fingernail across my computer screen and felt those grooves in the brake rotor!
Excellent visualization! Yeah, it was pretty bad, but the Lincoln still stops safely, regardless, which is a win for my cash-strapped neighbor.
Cheers, Jerry!
You’re a good man, treating your neighbor like that. <3
OMFG, what utter BS!! Im so sorry Mercedes! Im with the other commenters, this guy what a dick!! When your heart heals go to a local shelter there are so many pups that need a forever home!
Mercedes, that sounds awful. Yeah, what an a**hole!
I started work in a sketchy towing shop and had to do the brakes on an F350 wrecker that were metal on metal. I told them it needed pads and rotors. They gave me pads and said to put them on, which I did.
A few months later I had the truck apart for something else, and the rotors were polished to a shine. They were a little wavy, but totally smooth, and the pad was worn to a perfect fit. I was surprised!
So buy aggressive pads as a way to hone the rotor AND stop at the same time! Ingenious and diabolical.
Shelters are weird sometimes. We were looking for a dog to move on from our last rescue. One place said we had to have a fence and a mud room. The place we got our last dog and two cats wanted a ton of paperwork like we had never been there before. We found another shelter a bit further away. We met Juno, she is sweet. We wrote them a check and brought her home. 3 years last month. We trained her with a local biz and she is the best dog, well behaved and social. OK, she is weird around the cats, but its hardly a deal breaker.
I am sad for you Mercedes, dogs bring so much joy
SWG had a 2CV-spec cover laying around? That lair has everything!
I’m intrigued by Sheryl’s art collection…mostly avant garde oils of circus scenes, heavy on the clowns?
I can’t believe that Harbor Freight had a cheap blue cover in the exact specs/size for the 2CV – it’s uncanny!
Jokes aside, that place is such a godsend for wrenchers on a budget. Blue tarps and bungee cords and everything else.
Cheers Jack!
Some dog rescues really get in their own way. When adopting my first dog (in L.A.) I got so tired of the meets and the house visits and the re-meets. I eventually just went to the Santa Monica pound and picked the young one that calmly sat down when I walked by. Blue pit/dane mix. All legs and liked ice for ‘cookies’. Like a model.
Ellie was a sweet sweet girl. :’-(
I’ve done short term rescues of rusted (NOT pitted or grooved) brake disks with a pad or belt sander. Remove the surface rust, restore some finish and pop in new pads.
I’m fully aware that pitted and grooved rotors aren’t the best and that they should be replaced, but as far as their primary function goes (spinning Irene disc to clamp onto), they still get the job done!
Cheers and thanks for the Comment, Tbird!
Not questioning your methods, no budget is no budget. I bought my 19 YO daughter a 2009 Pontiac Vibe for $900 a few years ago. I (correctly) bet the misfire was just coils and plugs. I sanded down the brake discs/pads and verified/lubed the caliper slides,etc… to restore full function. She would still be driving it if not for an air bag deploying side impact.
I once threw a rear brake pad on a road trip, borrowed a jack and socket set to throw on a cheap ass sacrifical set of pads to tear up just to get home and do it right. Taking a wire wheel or pad sander to a rusted, not badly scored rotor to get another few k is reasonable with modern costs.
How did you throw the pad? Interested to hear of the cause.
Excellent MacGyver roadside skills!
The left rear outer pad lost the friction material on a road trip to South Carolina. Backing plate on disk, horrific noise and grinding. The inner pad still had half the friction material, as did the right side brakes. Guess just a bad bond on the pad. Did a full job on both sides with new rotors when I got home. Was a 2005 Acura MDX.
I do all my own brakes, I use a torque wrench on my lug nuts and always apply a light coat of never-seize to my rotor and hub faces. I pop a squirt of oil on my Toyota mag-type lug nuts with the captive washers. Other brake hardware (sliding pins) is inspected and greased each rebuild, bolts get never-seize and proper torque. Backing plates get never-seize and a bit of grease on the slides. I’ve bought too many used cars needing me to beat on a wheel or rotor with a sledge to free the rust. Any car I’ve done comes apart with little effort. Yes – I live in the rust belt.
Who’s Irene?
Responding to comments while trying to also do my other job is tough!
That was nice of auto-correct to personalize “Iron” into “Irene” though.
Cheers, Oswald!
I’m outraged on Mercedes’ behalf. I hate to say it, but there is a weird, hyper-judgmental culture around pets in America, probably driven by good intentions, but poorly and unevenly executed. Look for a good local place that can relate to human beings as well as animals. Good grief!
Mercedes, I’m so sorry that happened, the subtext is all there and it’s b.s.
On the other hand, I’ve heard there may be a small, cute as a button Met that may be looking for a new home soon. I’m sure it would fit right in with the scooter in your apartment…
There sure will be!
New connecting rod bearings are going in tonight – huzzah!
This is what I aspire to in wrenching. SWG is installing conrod bearing on Thursday night, and is confident it will be running this weekend. And I believe him. I need to wrench harder
It’s only what, a two hour job that you’ll be able to get done in 8 hours over a two day weekend?
That’s me… Right there.
I say this having just helped someone swap out the upper rear lift-gate on their Honda Element. I told everyone involved “this should be simple…but there will be something stupid that will hold us up”.
For some reason, Honda buried the wiring connector under the interior cladding below the rear window. That meant five different pieces of 20 year old interior plastic panels had to come off…rather ridiculous if you ask me.
I suspect that your mostly unstated suspicions about the person who visited judging simply on how you and Sheryl look and not much else are correct. Big bummer! Though at least it does sound like Naomi will get a good home.
Hoping you have better luck down the road on a new fur baby!
I used to be in a local cat rescue and we did home visits. Our criteria were mainly based around the safety of the animals, not a white glove inspection. One example is that we told an older lady that it would be best to have the sharp kitchen knives in a drawer rather than out on a magnetic strip on the wall as she was adopting young, active cats, not an elderly Siamese like she had before.
But agreed, some rescue groups seem a little (or a lot) over the top on what they’re looking for in new homes for animals.
Also, that guy is definitely an a**hole.
I think I speak on behalf of all Autopian members when I say: Fuck that guy.
Whatever the reason, he clearly wasn’t giving you a fair shake and the rescue doesn’t need assholes like that. I wonder how many other adoptions he prevented due to whatever stupid hangup he has.
I’ve found some rescues can have absurd requirements for what they consider an ok home for a dog. When my parents adopted a golden retriever puppy in 2010, the rescue felt that their fence had too big of gaps- standard wrought iron fences to the backyard, maybe big enough for the dog to get through as a puppy, but not for much longer. I asked if they’d ok it if we put some additional screening on the bottom half of the fence and they had to think about it. Ultimately they said ok.
Got turned down once from adopting a rabbit (former classroom pet) during COVID because they didn’t adopt out…rabbits…to households with young children. Pet rescues are often crazy.
100%
That dog visit guy doesn’t pass the smell test, so to speak. WTF.
He sure stinks though.
Big yikes on that visit. I mean, at least come up with a plausible lie…