battery problems

Ziret

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My plan was to take the dog for a walk around the lake. I practiced the uke for a while, set the tuner on an end table, put the uke away, and couldn't find my keys. After wasting a bunch of time not finding them, I decided to use the spare set. Went to the garage, and what should I find near the steps but my tuner, in three parts, with telltale bite marks on each, but no battery!

I looked all over the house and garage for the battery and finally decided it must be inside the dog. I looked on the internet and apparently this is a thing. Dogs liking batteries. While this is a dog who barely likes kibble, who wants to take that chance? Called the vet, who said I would have to call the ASPCA pet poison control hotline--for $75. And here I thought the vet would either know that or call them themselves. So I negotiated that I would call the hotline if necessary after an X-ray determined whether the battery was actually in the dog.

Got in the car with the dog and the spare keys, and there were the real keys, in the ignition. And the car wouldn't start because I had left them on ACC all night and the battery was dead. Walked the dog to the vet. Came home, called Les Schwab, got the car jumped, which cost $20. But the Les Schwab guy noticed that one of my headlamps was burned out.

The vet called and there was no battery in the dog. The kind of good news you have mixed feelings about. Yes, it's not going to cost you money to get the battery out, but if you had found the battery, you wouldn't be paying for the X-ray in the first place.

Took the car to get the dog, stopped at Napa for a new headlamp--$40. X-ray cost $120. So with the replacement tuner I have to buy, it was a $200 day and every single cost, except possibly the headlamp, was due to my own carelessness! The X-ray doubly so, since I found the battery in the garage a few days later, and if I hadn't freaked out and had looked harder, I would have found it and saved all that.

There are so many morals to this story, but the main one is, don't leave your tuner where your dog can get it when it's bored waiting for you to find your keys. And don't leave your keys in the car--but that's for a different forum.
 
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What a wonderfully comic-tragic story. Comic, in all the steps along the way that we have all experienced in some way or another. Tragic, in the cost and anxiety you endured. But it had a happy ending....well maybe not for your wallet. But the dog didn't die or have major surgery, you found your keys, and you have a fully charged battery & new headlight for your car. Now you get to head over to the nearest ukulele/guitar/music shop to buy a new tuner. Maybe you'll find something really cool at the music shop, or meet someone to talk ukulele with. Who knows? Perhaps the story of "The Dog That Didn't Eat The Battery" has more chapters to be written. No matter what happens next, your story made me chuckle & smile. Isn't life a kick in the pants sometimes. :D
 
Glad you laughed. I alternate between laughing and kicking myself in the butt.
 
Glad to hear the problems were all just stuff and not a sick pupper! Sounds like you've got the makings of a blues song:


Got up from mornin' practice to walk my dog round the lake
Put down my uke and tuner and was ready to skate
But my keys were gone - there was no path to the parks
And when I turned back to my tuner 'twas just tell tale bite marks
I picked up all the pieces then my mind turned to fog
The battery wasn't there: could it be in the dog?

You can finish it off. Give me a shout out when you win the grammy ;)
 
That's fantastic! Next summer's Old Town Road!
 
Yes, dogs can be expensive. I've had dogs all my life, and they're worth it.

On the plus side, you didn't have to buy a key/keyfob for a Honda Fit EX. That costs about $350. I can't find the original, and I've been using the spare. If I lose that, it will be a toss-up between buying a new car or buying a key for a six year old car. :D
 
Wow, things just build and build, I have had days like that myself. What kind of dog? Great story, sorry it cost so much.
 
Yes, dogs can be expensive. I've had dogs all my life, and they're worth it.

On the plus side, you didn't have to buy a key/keyfob for a Honda Fit EX. That costs about $350. I can't find the original, and I've been using the spare. If I lose that, it will be a toss-up between buying a new car or buying a key for a six year old car. :D

I've heard that the new key fobs are hideously expensive. Did you check the pockets of every coat, jacket, sweater, and pair of pants you own? I lost a key fob for several months and found it when I went to put on a jacket I seldom wear.

Probably this doesn't work any more, but if you need another, you could try eBay for a replacement. I had a car that the dealer wanted in the hundreds for a clicker, and it was, I don't know, maybe $50 on eBay, and included easy instructions to program it when it arrived. It would be much older than six now, so technology may have made that impossible. And I think you had to have one clicker already for it to work.

It will be hard to sell a car without a key, so I think you'll have to buy that key fob either way, if you lose it. :p
 
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I've heard that the new key fobs are hideously expensive. Did you check the pockets of every coat, jacket, sweater, and pair of pants you own? I lost a key fob for several months and found it when I went to put on a jacket I seldom wear.

Probably this doesn't work any more, but if you need another, you could try eBay for a replacement. I had a car that the dealer wanted in the hundreds for a clicker, and it was, I don't know, maybe $50 on eBay, and included easy instructions to program it when it arrived. It would be much older than six now, so technology may have made that impossible. And I think you had to have one clicker already for it to work.

It will be hard to sell a car without a key, so I think you'll have to buy that key fob either way, if you lose it. :p

I know it will turn up. It always does, but it is a concern because if I misplace the one I'm using, I'm stuck. If I had to get rid of it without a key, I would trade it to a dealer, but that's not really a serious option.
 
Glad the dog didn't swallow the battery. I have a story about a cat long ago, who did swallow a needle and thread.... with no adverse effects. It came safely out the other end!

And Jerry's comments remind me of just one of the many reasons I will only drive or own older vehicles! ;)

bratsche
 
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Glad the dog didn't swallow the battery. I have a story about a cat long ago, who did swallow a needle and thread.... with no adverse effects. It came safely out the other end!

And Jerry's comments remind me of just one of the many reasons I will only drive or own older vehicles! ;)

bratsche

Ooh I have a cat swallowing yarn story too, but no needle. Amazing that that came out OK, so to speak.
 
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You don't need to buy the key fobs from a dealer, you can fi d them direct online. Although the dealer will need to sync it up for $50. I did that for our Jeep, combining the activation with our routine oil change. Still way cheaper than buying it from the Jeep dealer.

I've done that with other cars, but Honda is the only one selling this kind. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I found an online dealer selling them for $90, discounted from a list price of $130.
 
Wow, things just build and build, I have had days like that myself. What kind of dog? Great story, sorry it cost so much.

I got her as a puppy at the Humane Society, where she and her litter mates were "surrendered," which is a term they use that means "so abused we could take you to court, but if you hand the dogs over, we'll let it go this time." She had/has a lot of issues, but she's sweet and smart and funny. Anyway to answer your question, she looks like some kind of whippet/Chihuahua cross, but is actually so much a mutt that her genetic test came back "mixed breed." I call that a sucker test.

Here she is doing what a lot of us would like to be able to do. The videographer and voice in the background are my granddaughter.

 
Very cute dog. My cat liked Xmas tree tinsel...

My wife's much newer Cadillac's keys are $350 to replace at the dealer. The service rep actually wanted to charge me $65 to replace the battery in the key fob. It was just out of warranty. Then he thought about it and said he'd replace it for the part cost—$2.50! Took him 30 seconds to swap it out.

I put one of those "find the item" tags on the fob. They beep when you ping it. Other similar tags work through a phone app to show you where the item is on a scalable map.
 
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