Title: April 11, 2007
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 made by the company that sold poisoned pet food. I really don’t have the money to take them to the veterinarian and I am devastated and scared to lose my beloved pets. They have both been vomiting, they refuse to eat, they sleep most of the time, they drink a lot of water and urinate more than usual. What do you advise 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 very well lose your pets. Menu Foods, the Canadian company that sold the poisoned food will be sued through a class action soon. It bought wheat from China, where the use of rat poison is not forbidden like it is in the USA to kill rats in their wheat fields. The wheat gluten, a source of protein, 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 poisoned 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. Your cats need urgent medical treatment. Menu Foods will pay for the care of your cats, 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.
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. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880
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