Our mini-hurricane or storm

[Victory]

Hi all,

Yesterday I'm at work, it's about lunch time when my phone rings. I don't immediately recognize the number on the caller id but I pick it up anyway as that is not unusual. It's my landlord, he says, "we are having a problem at your building" My first thought is the chowdren are barking or something like that. He continues to say, "the person above you let there toilet run over and it leaked into your apartment. But we're there cleaning it all up." I say okay, I only have a couple of hours left to go before I leave so I say I'll see what the damage is when I get there.

about 20 minutes later I get another call, I should come home asap, as there is 2-3 inches of water in my apartment, the whole apartment is flooded. I tell my boss I'm leaving and that I'll call him the next day, then I call a cab for the ride home, it's only about 25-30 minutes but costs me almost $30. As soon as I walk into the building I know something is seriously wrong...the carpet outside my apartment is soaked as in it's squishes when I walk on it. I go inside and there is still about 1/2 an inch of water in some places, more in others, no place is dry except the second bedroom, (that I use as a library) because that floor is actually elevated to the other floors and has molding across the doorway. The rest of the place is flooded; the worst is my bedroom, the space above my queen size bed is a gaping hole showing the under flooring and stuff. My bed is ruined, the mattress and box-spring saturated with moldy, mildewy disgusting water...(luckily not raw sewage, but clean water filtered through 30 year old insulation that has become moldy and meldewed from othe smaller leaks. The sheet rock is in grumbly pieces and the walls are dissentgrating from the amount of water that has soaked in, they look like melted wax.

I quickly realize that I have no where to sleep, and my chows can't stay there either, (they are being so good with five strangers in the place moving around, even moving their food dishes) but when I arrive, they cling to momma, like "okay fine, our leader is here now, she'll make it all better.) So I am really terrified, I call their vet who also does boarding, and they have space for them, I just have to get them there by 6pm. Okay I can do that, I'll find a hotel room after wards.

I end up having to call two cap companies before I get a driver willing to transport the two dogs, (even though it is now illigel for them to refuse such here now, since they "bid" on pickups they can just not pick you up. I WILL be writing a letter about this, as it will cause problems with disaster evacuations, and disasters come in all sizes) Anyway, we get to the vet's by 6:04 )(for a price of $41.00 this time) Again I can only say I LOVE my vet, they have stayed open waiting for me. I walk in and the vet techs come out to get the chows and start getting them bedded down. I bring in their dishes and food, give them all the instructions about their food, their little quirks and such, and tell them that Yes they should get some extra play time with each other. (they have to be kenneled seperatly cause none of the kennels will hold them together, but they are across from each other and can see each other) Then I hike over to the Caribou coffee shop across the way and wait for a friend to come and help me find a hotel or somewhere to stay where I can still get back to the apartment and/or work. I'm at the hotel at the moment, I'm going to head out to the apartment which is up the street really in a few mintes.

I called the vet first thing this morning and the chowdren are doing great, Firesong was wandering around the back of the clinic, they let them roam out of the kennels if they are only being boarded and behaving themselves. She had already been given her bordella shot and stuff and was doing great, they both had eaten a little, (I was really worried about Dreamdancer, he has never spent a night without me since he came at 8wks old) I think they did better than me last night, I kept waking up listening for them. I'm just not used to being without them at night especially, their little feet on the floor and the sounds of their tags and collars, the little sighs and stuff they make at night.

I can only stay at the hotel for last night and tonight, unless my student loan money hits my account, by tomorrow. I've already spent over half a month's rent on two nights for me and two nights for the dogs.

Oh and how did all this happen, the guy upstairs from me let his toilet run over, for the entire night, the guys doing the repairs say it must have run over for about 10-12 hours at least. He slept through the entire mess....Anyway I'm out of here to access the situation today. More later....

[Dogdad]

I am so sorry to hear of your troubles, I am glad the dogs are fine, Talk to your landlord , you should be compensated for the nights you were forced out of your apartment. You land lords insurance, or your neighbors insurance should cover it. If you have insurance you may want to check if your renters insurance covers this type of thing

David

[vicster605]

OH NO!!!! Now that sucks!!!! Shouldn't your landlord provide for some of this, like another apartment for you to stay in while yours is being repaired??? Like your Hotel bill or boarding fees.....GEEEZZ it isn't YOUR fault and shouldn't be your expense.....and he should replace your things LIKE YOUR BED And what are you supposed to do now??? Find another place to stay without a bed??? OH now I know your not keepin' quiet this time Victory The landlord should be tryin' to help you out here........
I'm sooooo glad your babies are being soooo good though=D= Its like they know WHEN we need them to be.....glad you could get them a place to stay so quick. I know I can't sleep without mine snorin' and snortin' either......it helps us sleep
Hope someone decides to help you out here.....and I'm sooooo sorry this happened

[TJordan]

Oh this is horrible. I agree the landlord or at the very least the man who caused the mess should be helping. Do you have Renter's insurance. If so I would be checking into it. I can't believe even your bed is ruined.

[fillyok]

What a nightmare!! I hope you can get compensated for your costs and trouble. It's the least the landlord and other tenant could do for you. And to think I was distraught over a leaking aquarium last week...sheesh. Good luck and hopefully you can find a comfortable, dry place to live (with the Chowkids) until your place is fixed.

[Mia]

Oh my gosh - that is horrifying!

I am glad you and the chowdren are ok - that's the most important thing. It's a good thing that none of you or the kids were on or about the bed at the time. But, what a disaster.

If you lived closer, I have some extra bedrooms - even for the chowdren.

I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through - what a mess.

Let us know if there is anything we can do.

[janet]

omg! this is terrible. i agree with everyone. the expenses that you have had to pay should definately be reimbursed. im glad dreamdancer and firesong had a warm safe and dry place to stay. good luck, our prayers are with you.

[Roxana]

Wow Victory, that really, really sucks!! Did you find a place to stay? Are you gonna be moving back in there after everything is fixed or moving out permantly? I agree with the others; doesn't your landlord have to help you in some way?? I hope everything works out for you.

p.s. We drove through Minneapolis/St. Paul on our holidays and I thought of you. It's beautiful in Minnesota, it reminds me a lot of Canada.

[fillyok]

Has anyone heard from Victory?? I'm worried.

[carolyn dewrance]

Victory, I do hope you are O.K. this is really terrible, and hopefully the guy above you pays for the damages to your belongings, and your hotel bills and vets bills, I would not let him get away with it.
Carolyn

[vicster605]

Well, Victory???? What happened??? Are you ok?? I'm worried about you too......hopefully you are just busy movin' into a temporary apartment????

[chris]

OMG... I couldn't imagine.... What do you do now? Is your insurance going to cover your personal belongings? Sounds like you will at least need a new bed... Does your insurance or the landlords insurance pay for your temperary houseing? and what about the expense for the babies? OMG OMG OMG...

[jacqui]

what a frustrating situation you and your kids are in our thoughts and we hope you have found a place to stay by now.

[Victory]

Hi everyone. Sorry for not being here. I only stayed at the hotel until 11am on Friday, (couldn't afford more) and found out that my modem got killed in the water after I got home, so until I get the phone company to replace it, (or buy one myself) I am without internet at home. I'm at work for a little while today, taking off about 10:30 to go get the chowdren. I was able to get a new futon mattress for my futon couch, (the old one had been replaced with foam rubber after Darkwind got sick on it) so now it's comfortable to sleep in the apartment. The bedroom won't be ready again until the sheet-rocking is completed later this week and they can get the ceiling painted. It was supposed to be done by wednesday, but the weather here turned wet so things haven't quite dried out as they should.

No the landlord isn't going to reimburse me at all, in fact they are going after the guy upstairs, I will be doing the same actually, this has cost me a fortune....

Thanks for the good wishes and prayers they are much appreciated and help a lot in times like these...I hope everyone in the path of these awful hurricanes is okay and doing fine.

[Laura]

Oh my goodness I am so sorry to hear about this! It was my greatest fear when I live in apts. The neighbors would burn the place down or some kind of water issue! I finally got renters insurance...which back then was fairly cheap...not sure about now but worth checking into. So sorry!

[Victory]

They are home! YAY! I missed them so much and I think they missed me, they were a little clingly yesterday afternoon and last night. They did great at the boarding and got glowing report cards, (my vet does report cards for everything) Neither of them ate very well, (hey they are chows) so they gave them some canned food so they both have really soft stools at the moment, but that should clear up in a few days. I have a cute picture of Firesong in the play yard and you can just see Dreamdancer's rear end in the picture. He wouldn't sit still long enough; he was having too much fun chasing the birds during the day and the moths at night, (moths!!??? he's so weird )

Anyway, life is getting back to normal slowly but surely; we have to finish fixing the bedroom ceiling, paint ceiling, paint walls, clean bed frame, get bed, replace the two school books that just aren't drying well enough to be useable, (it has to be the two most expensive ones too!) and then we'll be back to normal. And I'm checking into renter's insurance today!

Thanks for all the good wishes.

[jacqui]

I'm happy to hear your all back home togther again hard to believe that no one is responsible for the damage though

[pfordeb]

Most big cities have tenants associations which could inform you of your rights. I think your landlord should put you into another apartment. Actually, the Red Cross can also help in emergencies. I know they are beyond busy with everything else that is happening, but they usually have materials, funds for emergencies such as you found yourself in. Knock on wood this doesn't happen to any of us, but I learned about it from a friend who was in a fire (in an apartment). Good luck. What a tough time everyone has had lately.