"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
10/01/2015 at 08:55 • Filed to: None
19
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"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
10/01/2015 at 08:55 • Filed to: None | 19
| 58 |
The most trafficked !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to date was on bad Spot Deliveries - when the dealer sells a car and then steals it back. Or threatens to, in an attempt to get more money. It’s the topic of this week’s podcast.
But first, I have sad news from the control room of the Lehto’s Law studios. Milo, one of the two Shetland Sheepdogs who often wanders through the background of my videos, passed away on Monday. He was 14 and a 1/2 years old and was the Executive Producer of pretty much everything around here. That’s him in the top pic. Wolfy (left, below) will take over sole shepherding duties from this point forward.
As for the topic of the show: car dealers sometimes sell a car to a buyer and then 1) tell the buyer they need to come back in and sign new documents (which replace the originals) with a higher interest rate or 2) retake possession of the car (i.e., steal it) and hold it hostage to force the buyer to cough up more money or to sign new documents.
These transactions sometimes happen where the seller gives the car to the buyer and tells the buyer they have been approved for a loan when, in fact, there has been no loan approval. It is very fly-by-night and usually very illegal. Is it possible that these transactions MIGHT be legal? Possibly, but most often no. And if you are a used car seller and this topic pisses you off, go read the original article and complain there. You can join in with the other sellers who told me this was all the buyers’ fault.
So, here is the audio of this week’s podcast.
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And the video.
Dedicated to Milo (2001 - 2015). He had no last name. Like Bono or Sting. Just a heck of a lot cooler.
Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Subscribe to my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 24 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.
David E. Davis
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:08 |
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Sorry for your loss Steve. Pets make us better people.
POD
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:08 |
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Very sorry to hear about your Executive Producer. My Garage Foreman passed away 2 weeks ago. He was the silent type that would just stare at you until you did the job right.
baby driver
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:10 |
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So sorry about your dog. If I ever feel the need to cry, I think of the day we put our 16 year old girl down.
Autohaus Derp
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:11 |
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So sorry to hear about your dog, Steve. My condolences.
Clown Shoe Pilot
> POD
10/01/2015 at 09:12 |
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That looks like our Site Supervisor. We lost him a couple years ago.
factsonly1
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:18 |
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Sorry, dog.
drdude
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:31 |
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Sorry about your puppy.
You do have me checking out the laws here in SC. This is something I never had to put up with, as I refuse to let the dealership do the financing for my vehicles. I almost always buy from a private party, but when I do go to a dealership, I already have everything prepared ahead of time.
Sweet Trav
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:32 |
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Sorry for the loss of your Pup. Pets are only in our lives a short time, but we are our pets entire life, it's good that Milo had a great owner like you.
RajMaHall
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:38 |
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Sorry to hear about Milo. All the best.
xtheunknown
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:43 |
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Stop it, you people, you’re making me tear up. I’ve never listened to your podcast but I find this subject interesting, so I might start. I’m allergic to the little rascals, but I feel your pain.
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POD
> Clown Shoe Pilot
10/01/2015 at 09:52 |
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Always a sad day when you lose a hound.
NOSLucasWiringSmoke
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:54 |
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Sorry about your dog, Steve.
jeffieboy
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:57 |
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Steve, we lost our mother (90) & M-i-l (89) in a span of three weeks after losing our Vizsla - Sophie (15) about two months prior. If you had told me previously that it was harder to lose your dog than those two wonderful ladies, I wouldn’t have believed you. Three years later, it still hurts. My condolences.
bob and john
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:58 |
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Sorry to hear about the dog... it never nice to loss a pet.
PartyPooper2012
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 09:58 |
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Dealer who sells the car and steals it back you say?
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PartyPooper2012
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:01 |
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Sorry for your loss. Hang in there, Steve.
Spoon!
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:11 |
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Makes me happy to have used USAA for my financing for the past fifteen years. Avoided this whole horror story.
TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:13 |
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Sorry to hear about Milo, I too had a dog named Milo. Except he was a Bullterrier and about as smart (and lovable) as a teddy bear. He was the only dog I ever had that could give me both the most loving and vacant look at the same time. Dammit why is it dusty in here all of a sudden... stupid allergies.
Hirsch
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:15 |
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Sorry to hear about your dog Steve, they are members of our families and it’s hard to lose them.
In the late 90’s, while driving an 86 Olds Cutlass Ciera, I saw an ad for a new Cavalier Z24. Of course the dealer only had one Z and it was an autotragic. I wanted a manual, but the only Cavalier with a manual was what I call a “generic car”. White paint, black bumpers, mirrors and other trim. We made a deal, I drove home, the brand new car overheated. The next morning the dealer called me and said they had new papers for me to sign. I drove out to the dealer, the brand new car overheated again. They wanted to add coolant, but I knew that wasn’t the issue. I told them to keep the Cavalier and to give me my Oldsmobile back. They did and I ended up buying a used 1994 SVX a few weeks later.
Can I get out of the “grey zone” Steve?
W124-4EVER
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:18 |
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Sorry to hear about Milo, Steve.
The Gray Adder
> Hirsch
10/01/2015 at 10:22 |
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Awesome, dude. That’s what everybody should do when dealers pull shit like this. A close second would be to reply, “sure, I’ll come over. Mind if I bring my neighbor the sheriff’s deputy with me?”
charski
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:24 |
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Good on ya for sharing your awesome puppy with us, I hope your heart heals well eventually from that loss in your life.
KayGB
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:27 |
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I’ve always been offended by some of God’s schemes. Allotting a dozen or so years to good dogs was just stupid. You hear that God, YOU’RE STUPID!!
GLiddy
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:29 |
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To preface my question, I’ll state that I just passed my real estate sales license exam so that colors my thoughts and insight into contracts and finance.
Do you think something similar to RESPA would help protect consumers in these situations? (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. It requires certain disclosures in regards to financing and closing procedures. And certainly in a real estate, you can’t close until financing is secured and all contingencies are satisfied.) I’m guessing no since these few dealers don’t care about the law anyway.
So I’m just wondering what, if anything, could be done to help to consumer on the front side rather than having to go seek a legal remedy after the fact? Would bringing a lawyer to the dealership finance office be my best play?
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SteveLehto
> KayGB
10/01/2015 at 10:30 |
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It’s the bargain we make when a dog joins us in life. We know it going in. The cost is high at the end but the benefit along the way is worth it.
Thanks for the note.
Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:31 |
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Sorry for your loss, the fact you still have to post with us Oppo schmucks its the real crime.
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SteveLehto
> GLiddy
10/01/2015 at 10:32 |
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Generally, there are laws that prevent these transactions and most of them address the disclosures and so on (Truth in Lending, Fair Debt Collection). The dealers break those laws by doing these so the only real solution is to consult an attorney at the first sign of trouble to know what your rights are and what your recourse is.
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SteveLehto
> Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
10/01/2015 at 10:34 |
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I love Oppo! I post on The Garage too (fka “Carbuying”) but like knowing that I can put stuff on Oppo whenever the mood strikes.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:42 |
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Chuey has the sads for you.
Xedicon
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:42 |
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So sorry to hear about the loss of your pup. Dogs are the best and it’s always hard to lose such an amazing friend.
CommonSenseIsn't
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:53 |
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Milo did *too* have a last name: Lehto.
All of our pets have our last name. Yours should too.
At our pet doctor, they announce our pet with it, as it should be: “Patches Roles’ mommy and daddy are here to pick her up. Please bring her to the the front.”
GoalieLax
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 10:53 |
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Sorry for your loss. Shelties are the best friends. I still have holes in my heart from Hamish and Sparky, the Shelties of my youth and young adult years.
To make you feel better, he’s a picture of our Sheltie Barney on the way home from picking him up. He’s 3 now and is the best friend of our 2 year and 6 month old daughters.
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SteveLehto
> CommonSenseIsn't
10/01/2015 at 11:01 |
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Legally, maybe. But he wouldn’t answer to it. He would have ignored you until you said it correctly.
r1teway
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 11:01 |
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Is there any correlation between ability to recover trebel damages and “business-friendly” states? Thank you for sharing your experiences with us!
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SteveLehto
> GoalieLax
10/01/2015 at 11:01 |
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What a beautiful dog! Thanks for sharing.
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SteveLehto
> r1teway
10/01/2015 at 11:03 |
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A lot of states don’t have punitive damages or trebling statutes and that is often tied to which way the state tends to lean. Michigan has a FEW statutes that are good on some of these points but lobbyists never quit in their battle to get them changed.
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tpm067_burner
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 11:23 |
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Well said.
Keith
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 11:28 |
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Sorry about your loss- used car dealers will probably blame that on you for owning a dog in the first place though. Lovely world we live in
ecafsub
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 11:30 |
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I truly feel your pain. When my bestsest buddy, Tycho, passed, I cried like a baby and was a useless basket-case for a week. His soccer ball went with him everywhere he could take it.
Shelties are little bundles of Awesome.
Bubba Fett, Seymour-Baus,Inc.
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 12:00 |
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Sorry for your loss. Dogs and cats are the best people.
FIREGOAT73
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 12:04 |
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I’m sorry to hear that, Steve. My cat passed away about a month ago, she was 19. It sucks so much.
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deutschophile85
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 12:10 |
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This comment thread has given me all the feels. I dread the day our hound, Lucy, will leave us.
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SteveLehto
> ecafsub
10/01/2015 at 12:21 |
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Something few people will understand but I suspect you will: Milo watched out for me. I miss having someone doing that for me. Wolfy is still around but Milo watched over both of us.
dave1827
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 13:06 |
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Sorry to hear about your dog. I hopefully have 10 years or so left with both of mine, but I know I’ll be an absolute wreck when that day comes.
I thought something similar was happening with my fiance’s Subaru Outback last year. It was a used model with around 1500 miles on it. The dealer told us a story of an elderly man buying it for his wife, then realizing she shouldn’t be driving anymore.
A couple weeks later, they called her to tell her she needed to bring the car in, because it had issues with the title, and she’d need to re-sign documents with the real title. I was certain they were going to try and take the car back or change her loan terms on her. The actual first thing that came to mind was “good thing I’ve been reading so many articles by that Steve Lehto guy.”
It turned out to be a legitimate mistake in the end. The car came in used and was inspected in the shop, but because it was so lightly used they put it on their new car lot and forgot to take it to the county clerk to have the title transferred from the previous owner. It was inconvenient, but fortunately wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.
Lponvcxz
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 13:12 |
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Rip
JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 13:16 |
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Aww man I clicked it because adorable dogs but then I read it and became sad.
So sorry for your loss.
DragonBreath
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 13:19 |
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Sorry for your loss. I was raised by a Sheltie, Banshee, but that was 58 years ago in California. My dad bought her just before I was born and she died when I was 16. I have pictures of me as a baby with a not quite fully grown dog. My dad used to joke that Banshee would have said that she raised me.
A price cannot be put on the loyalty and companionship of a good dog and I am glad that you have someone to keep you well herded in the future.
Diavel in Hawaii
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 13:36 |
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I had this happen to me once. I was buying a toy though and certainly didn’t need it so when I received the call on a monday morning saying the interest rate and payments were going to be higher than the deal I signed, I laughed at them and said I’d be down there in an hour with the car and they better fucking have my down payment check ready for me. They asked me to give them two hours and miracle of miracles, they called me back honoring the original deal within 20 minutes.
Also: very sorry for your loss.
Trick_Raptor
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 13:57 |
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Sorry to hear about your dog, Steve. It’s hard I know. Lost my Bloodhound on 12/31/09 and my Coonhound on 03/29/14. I have yet to get another dog but I am looking!
I bought my first new car from Cal Worthington Ford in Long Beach, CA. It was a ‘89 Ford Escort GT (don’t laugh, I was 19 and I thought I was getting a good deal) that was supposed to be financed through Ford.
I made the purchase on a Friday night and come the following Tuesday I found out I wasn’t approved and that they were going to try to find a new lender and I had to come in. So I went to Bank of America got the loan on the spot and a check to give Cal. I had better terms than Ford too!
At the dealer I was told they found financing and it of course was going to cost more. I said no problem, I already have financing here is the check.
The finance guy said that I will have to pay an additional $500 now!
Why? Because I was not financing with Ford anymore. When I asked who the new finance company was and how come I wasn’t told about the $500 before I said I had financing he said it was already in the new contract.
I said no thanks to the extra $500 and the finance guy said we can’t sell you the car then. The finance guy sensing he won as I went to my pocket to pay the extra $500 he was shocked when I threw the keys on the table and asked for my check back.
I was told I couldn’t back out of the deal and that I signed a contract. A contract that was not vaild I reminded him. He won’t give me the check back because a deal is a deal... A deal that he is not honoring. I said no and when I got up and said I’ll tell BofA the deal fell through and to cancel the check he said give me a minute and I’ll see what I can do.
After 10 minutes he came back and said he can make the deal and I got the car for the price that had originally been negotiated. At the time I didn’t know about many of these scams but over the next 34 years I never let my guard down and I always got great deals when making a auto purchase!
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BrianHappy
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 15:04 |
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Dogs and cars. Two things that always get the emotions going. RIP Milo. Fun sharing dog pics Steve.
rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 16:33 |
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Sorry for your loss Steve.
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ecafsub
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 16:41 |
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Yes, I’m very familiar with their fierce loyalty and devotion. Tycho was a graduation present for my ex, but he bonded with me. He was perfectly fine with her, but it was clear who His Person was. (Named for Tycho Brahe, who had a gold nose.)
He’d gone into almost complete renal failure and, after a week of useless treatment, we ultimately decided to end his suffering. He was 7.
Took him home so he could spend his last night in comfort and with family. When we arrived at the vet’s office the next morning, we decided to take him for a last walk (Side-note: when we were leaving he went to get his ball, pushing it in front of him. He usually carried it in his mouth.) The sidewalk was too narrow for all 3 of us, so I walked behind the ex. Tycho (walking off-lead) fell into perfect heel position next to me and stayed right by my side the entire... Who the hell is chopping onions in here?!?!?!?!
...goddammit...
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SteveLehto
> ecafsub
10/01/2015 at 16:45 |
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I love the name. Milo was named for the director of my favorite film (Milo Forman: “Amadeus”). Guess where Wolfy got his name from ?
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ecafsub
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 17:21 |
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Uhhhhhhh.... River Phoenix’s character in
Explorers
? I didn’t know his last name was Mozart. ;)
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Hawkstrike6
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 19:25 |
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Sorry to hear about Milo. We have four Shelties, and our oldest, Scout, is 14.
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kurttron3
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 19:31 |
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as a fellow sheltie blue merle owner (he’s 8 now 35 lbs!, not fat ), condolences
my last sheltie hit 16 yrs
no better dogs/friends
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SteveLehto
> kurttron3
10/01/2015 at 19:32 |
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True.
Got a pic?
MotoArigato
> SteveLehto
10/01/2015 at 20:35 |
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A virtual hug to you and your family today buddy, so very sorry to hear about the loss of Milo. I’ll hug my little lady (a rescue Pit Bull) a bit tighter tonight. Bask in the comfort of your other pooch, they know when you’re hurting. Be well.