<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV>Hi all, momPerson here,</DIV>
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<DIV>Well, for me it all depends. We have a gardener and a housekeeper who come around regularly. I would never even REMOTELY consider employing someone who was not trusted by my dogs and kids. I interviewed these folks and made sure I was around the first few times they came and watched their interactions with my dogs (and later kids) and would NOT have hired them if either the kids or the dogs balked. I firmly believe that kids and dogs read folks better than we can. We've had the housekeeper 15 years now and she and her daughter are BIG dog lovers so no issue. I always have them come on a day I work in the office and the dogs just love it .... they get a visitor during the day!!! The gardener is newer but the dogs like him and he's good with them. Our yard is double gated and we have a firm rule about closing one gate before openning another and we've never had an issue (so far).</DIV>
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<DIV>For repairmen I am always home and I usually put the dogs in the back of the house because repairmen don't seem to know how to close doors and they come in and out and in and out and turn my dogs loose.</DIV>
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<DIV>I've had contractors over the course of more than a few days and then I generally let the dogs have run of their home once it's established that everyone likes everyone else ... otherwise we need a new contractor. When we've remodeled I've always made it clear that the work site has to be secured against my dogs and my kids and that had better be figured into the price and timeline. PERIOD.</DIV>
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<DIV>My dogs don't bite ... so honestly I'm worried about their safety (and mine and the girls). </DIV>
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<DIV>And I don't like PetCo .... I like PetSmart because they are nicer and cheaper and closer and they do adoptions in the back, not blocking entrance and exists. My Snoopy is still nervous around dogs he doesn't know and he still barks at dogs that scare him which some take as a challenge and besides who needs a bunch of untrained dogs blocking the entrance or exit to a building for goodness sakes? I live in earthquake country!!</DIV>
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<DIV>I may be clueless about basset hounds but I do have the sense G-d gave a seedless grape!!</DIV>
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<DIV>momPerson to Cyrus and Snoopy</DIV></div></body></html>