Dottie Atwater

I dislike the saying "he's like an animal" regarding a bad person. Animals don't cheat people, abandon their people, commit murder, no lying, stealing, hypocrisy, gossiping. . . People should be more like animals.

Blessings to Marion who cares so deeply about animals. What a beautiful but sad looking dog. I hope the cruel person who dumped him can be identified and a denuncia filed against him. People, including expats, need to learn to respect the feeling and needs of animals. I always hope that Karmic justice will send animal abusers back as the animal they abused, to themselves be abused just as they abused animals.

At the end of your long letter, I saw that you had zero success with ACODECO. I had the same zero success with them. I wasted LOTS of time and never got a refund for a hotel that refused my pensionado discount--EVEN THOUGH there was an ACODECO resolution (from Panama City) in my favor. (I have a copy.) Every time I'd call or visit ACODECO, I was told they'd call me, I should call them in a month, I should come back...whatever. I finally gave up.

I was recently wondering if folks on CL have looked at ning lately. I do from time to time and it's no longer not even good for a laugh. It's just stupid bickering and insults back and forth. I echo the thanks to Bud and Marcelyn, too.

The pot calling the kettle black. The US has ruined the lives of thousands of Panamanian people because of suspected money laundering (but offered no proof), while money laundering/shell companies in the US continue with no consequences. Expecting rules to tighten around shell companies after Panama Papers? Not likely. http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article92679982.html

45 animals were spayed/neutered by Dr. Andres Tello, our wonderful veterinarian. See http://spaypanama-chiriqui.org/96th.html Two dogs and one cat were pregnant and aborted. Plus someone had shot a little male dog with a pellet gun near the penis and Dr. Tello discovered the pellet and removed it. He also examined the rear leg of that same dog. It was broken in two places. A local vet had said the leg "wasn't broken" and now it was too late to do anything about it. Dr. Tello also removed a tumor from a female dog, removed a hernia, and removed a big Leishmanaisis wound from a dog's face. We had a long day. Even so, we had four last-minute cancellations and 13 no-shows. Our next clinic will be on August 28. Call for an appointment right away because the clinics fill up fast. 6891-0999 (Spanish) or 6517-8752 (English). Hugs to everyone who volunteers, participates, donates, and brings their animals to be sterilized! Dottie

I understand that the imported onions don't have price controls. (I think that's the larger onions.) A local vege stand in Volcan wants $1.50.lb. Up the hill toward Cerro Punta one of the "wholesalers" for the local onions wants $1.00 per lb., which is against the law. (The "controlled" price is 80 cents/lb.) Berard's had a few the other day for 80 cents/lb. Romero hasn't had any for quite some time. I agree that price controls are not a good idea.

I THINK my Cable Onda problems are almost over....I hope. At first the technicians installed the wrong type of modem (wireless instead of wired) which caused all sorts of problems, including interference with my sound card. I could not use skype! After several calls, they figured out what was going on, sent two techs to change the modem, and other than a couple of times when CO has been down, it has worked fine. But I have the "package" with them that includes telephone. I never knew when it would work. I called a couple of times on my cell phone, having to use my minutes for that because when I try to log in to their web site (sucursal online) it would not recognize my password or email address--although I do get emails from CO. Finally yesterday they sent two techs to my house regarding the phone service. They said the cable connecting the modem had not been installed properly. Whether that's true or not, I haven't had any problem with the phone today. It seems the only remaining problem is unable to log in. Interestingly, someone called today to ask if the phone issue was solved. I mentioned the "unable to log in" issue, and he said he has the same problem! He promised to get to the bottom of it. We'll see. Well, a long story to answer the questions about refunds. Call 730-5575 and give them your subscriber number. Tell them how long you were without service. They should give you a claim number and tell you it will take up to 30 days. I've had no problem getting credit after I've submitted a claim. I got credit from May 21st to June 3rd (from the time of the first install until they changed the modem) and I've also gotten some credit for the phone issue. I've generally been pleased with customer service over the phone. And their English-speaking staff all speak excellent English.

Thanks, and do you mean downtown, near the Office Center?

Please let me know if I understand correctly: the CO office is if you're going FROM Boquete and turn left on the PanAm Highway (before Cochez) going toward Chiriqui Hospital? Thanks.

Yeah! We found the sought after rag chew in David yesterday afternoon. Of all places at El Rey. A monster of wrapped material with both ends of dangling pieces. About 18" long, and cost $7.59 (ouch). Anouk loves it. Maybe we should buy several more... this one is lasting longer than a few minutes, but it too will probably succumb to her energetic playing. You can usually find these at Todo a Dollar.

During the last few weeks, a message has begun to pop up on my cell phone with a clickable "yes" or "no." If I click "no" it goes away, but there is no way to tell where it came from. And when one of those messages appears, the screen will not dim ; therefore, if I haven't seen it on my phone for a while, it runs the battery down fairly quickly. This is really, really annoying, and I'm wondering if anyone else is getting these, and if anyone knows a fix to eliminate them. Thanks.

I doubt that your being "gringa" had anything to do with it. Most Panamanians have passively accepted this kind of lying and awful service. If expats have a role in eventually changing it for the better, almost everyone will benefit--including the merchants who see the light.

Keith, apparently you like the "return and refund policies" here. I don't, and many people (including Panamanians) don't either. There are few goods things I can say about the US. I much prefer living in Panama (obviously, because I live here). I have no intention of returning to the US, even for a visit, but one good thing I can say is the "return and refund policy" in the US is better. (I know, I know...you'll retort, "better for whom?") I have no doubt that the stupid "non-customer-service practice" in Panama will change. (Maybe not in MY lifetime. Ha, ha.) As a few stores start to change the practice, people will shop at those stores over the others whenever possible. That will prompt the others to change their arrogant "take it or leave it" attitudes. Pure economics, ya know.

Yes, buy the empty refillable cartridges from the link I provided. (Mine were about $20 per each set--2 printers.) They are a breeze to refill yourself. You will need to save a syringe from a previous refill kit. Or, some of the colors (black specifically) at Office Center have a syringe-like thing attached. Office Center in David? The best way I can tell you is this: I part in the Banco Universal parking lot, walk out the back of the lot, turn left and walk another block or so. Office Center will be on the corner. They have a lot of good stuff there. I get my tags for the clinics laminated there, too.

Keith, I didn't deserve your snippy response. Nowhere did I say merchants in Panama should change their sales return policies "just to suit me." (Never mind; that's what your original post said in the email to me; I see that you edited it here.)

Thank you, Bud. Yes, it does help. I didn't have time to research for another lawyer to be my registered agent this year (taxes/agent fee due July 15th), but by next year I hope to have a registered agent who doesn't charge $150 for doing nothing except paying the annual taxes.

Well, there are pros and cons about raw vs cooked bones on the internet. I give my dogs raw beef bones and have for years. I checked into Nylabones on Amazon. I considered ordering them, but with 18 dogs, they are too pricey. Then I saw some negative reviews about them on Amazon--health hazards, dental risks, etc. You've used the Nylabones with no problems, I've given the raw beef bones with no problem. Re chicken bones, I'll bet Dan was talking about cooked chicken bones. For a long time I fed my dogs raw chicken thighs. Never a problem. I'd buy 100 lbs. at a time, frozen from Price Smart. But I quit when I became concerned about the hormones and antibiotics given to farmed chickens.

Judy, did you buy the empty refillable cartridges from the site I mentioned? I have used mine for years with no problem. I tend to think you didn't because of your comment "I got some Canon cartridges refilled." If you were using the cartridges I recommended, you would have easily refilled them yourself.

They manage to do it in the US, so apparently the "financial controllers" don't have a problem, just as a few stores in Panama have managed.

If you read my post about buying ink refill cartridges, your can forever after easily refill them yourself.

You missed my point. "Not being obligated" doesn't mean it is against the law to give a refund. Perhaps one day Panama will learn good customer service and good business practices.

Please do not cook bones for your doggie. They can splinter and possibly stick in the stomach or intestines. It's fine to give raw beef bones, raw chicken bones, etc. but NOT cooked.

Not long ago I used a camera I hadn't used in quite some time. After taking a few pictures, I couldn't find the cord to connect the camera to my computer. On June 28, I bought the cord at Multimax in David. Before I even got back to Volcan, I realized that the cord I'd used previously was the one for my Kindle, and it fit the camera perfectly. Today, July 11, I made another shopping trip to David. I took the cord back to Multimax, explained the situation, said I didn't need the cord after all, and asked for a refund. I had never even had the thing out of its box and I had the receipt. Well, after speaking with two people, I then ended up with the manager. He refused a refund, and even worse, he LIED to me: He said "no refunds" are the law in Panama. (The guy should be fired for that alone.) I told him I knew better, that Price Smart and other places give refunds. (I doubt that he'd recognize the phrase, "LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE.) I told him with his refusal to refund a $13.00 cord that I'd never buy anything in his store again. I said his refusal would lose him the opportunity to sell me much more expensive items--computers, printers, etc. His response was a shrug. WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING? Yes, Price Smart does give refunds (although it's not a quick process). So does Super Stars Computers. I bought a generic power supply there quite some time ago. After installing it, it worked great for a few hours then it immediately quit working and shut down my computer. I called Super Stars and told them about it. They said I had to bring it back the next day. I told them I live in Volcan, and I'd bring it the following week. When I arrived, they said they needed to test it before giving me a refund. I told them it would require several hours to "test" because it would no doubt work fine at first. Other than the generic brand (that I didn't want to try again) they only had very expensive Cooler Masters. So they gave me a refund that day, albeit somewhat reluctantly. (The next time I was in the store, they told me the one I returned "worked fine." That probably means that they foisted it off on another customer.) Multimax is off my list permanently. (I bought a good, inexpensive power supply via the internet. It has been great.)

Aha! Go to http://www.stratitec.com/ They sell inexpensive refillable (empty) ink cartridges for just about any brand/model of printer. I've used these for two different printers and they work great. You'll save a fortune without having to buy the expensive ink cartridges. Printers are cheap. The manufacturers make their exorbitant profits by selling the grossly overpriced ink cartridges. I haven't had to buy their ink cartridges for years. I do a LOT of printing, too. Office Center in David sells individual colors of ink. Mostly I need to buy black, and it's nice not to be forced to buy every color that comes in a kit. (Save your refill syringe from a kit.) (Sometimes after inserting a refilled cartridge, my printer hasn't realized a new cartridge has been inserted. But after I remove/insert it a few more times, all is well.)