Legal-Eaze
Legal-Eaze
By: Maxine de Vilefranche
Topics: legal eaze, pets
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 421 times
0 responses 0 comments Q. My mother lives with us. She has a touch of Alzheimer's, but she is still active and still takes care of her financial obligations. My daughter, who is 16 years old, somehow got a hold of my mother's credit card and charged a variety of items, such as jewelry, makeup and clothing on it. I don't know what to do. Please advise.
A. First, I would make sure that your daughter gives the credit card back to its owner, advise your mother of the situation and that she needs to keep her credit card(s) away from your daughter. Second, you need to have a serious talk with your daughter. She needs to realize that she stole not only money from her grandmother, but also her identity and needs to make up for it. You can take away her weekly or monthly allowance until all the charges she put on the credit card are paid for. Or she needs to get a part-time job and earn some money to pay her grandmother back. To call the police and get her charged with identity theft may be counterproductive. Your daughter committed a crime that could have grave consequences for your daughter's future if she was to repeat her actions.
Q. I believe my cats suffer from kidney failure because I have been feeding them canned food that has been the subject of a nationwide recall. I really don't have the money to take them to the veterinarian and I am devastated and scared to lose my beloved pets. Many of their symptoms are those suffered by the pets that died. What can I do?
A. Ask the veterinarian to give you credit until you can pay for the care of your pets, or borrow the money, otherwise you may lose your pets. Menu Foods, the Canadian company that sold the recalled food, may be sued through a class action soon. It bought wheat from China, where the use of rat poison to kill rats in wheat fields is not forbidden like it is in the USA. The wheat gluten, a source of protein, comes from wheat and is added to canned pet food to thicken the sauce. Many pets have died or have suffered from kidney failure. I myself have fed some of the recalled food to my dogs, noticed their loss of appetite for a few days, saw my female vomit a couple of times, but fortunately the dogs recovered quickly. I believe your cats may need urgent medical treatment.
Menu Foods will pay for the care of your cats if it is proven that they ate some of the recalled food and were sickened by it, however you will more than likely have to give up your right to take part in the class action should you use their help in caring for your animals. If you have not already thrown away the empty cans, keep them and double bag them and bring them to the veterinarian to be tested.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. E-mail your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to 825-8880.
| Send to a Friend | Report a Violation |
