I found your topic while searching for answers to an identical problem. I think I've found the solution and I hope it's not too late to help you. While messing around with the unit I bumped the red/white wires that attach through the ceiling to the wall opener. This caused the door to open. In all the years of use, these wires had moved around enough to where they were able to touch each other. The result is that somehow, while they are touching, the security is disabled, allowing other remotes to work on my door. I verified this with my neighbor's remote that was opening my door--while the wires were touching, his remote worked on my door, but when I separated the wires, his stopped working. Since then I've reset my old remote and haven't come home to find the door open yet. If you still have the opener, inspect the wires. The place where the wires were touching on mine was right by the screwposts on the main opener.

Your fees vary according to the cost to the entity and the amount they are given by local and federal groups. IF it is a shelter (or what the ASPCA or HSUS considers a shelter), there are many grants that can be obtained. Our fee (about 3 yrs ago) was $90 in our suburbian area. That included spay/neuter, heartworm test, first round of shots (or 2nd if a documented animal that had had first round), and deworming. The breakdown was this.... - $10 for heartworm test. Vets here charge $36. - $6 shots. This was the parvo/distemper/yadyadayada shot (6/1 shot).. Vets charge $16 - $35 for spay/neuter. Vets charge per size of dog or cat -- this can be upwards of $120 if a large female dog. Their least fee is $80 for a cat neuter. So $35 is a bargain. - $6 deworming. Vets charge $6 for deworming around here. - $16 rabies shot. State law in TN dictates $16 for rabies and licensure (dog license is imbedded with the rabies shot). We only charged the adopter the cost of our supplies for the animal. And we never charged for the upkeep or feeding during the animal's stay. That is what made us a non-profit. If an animal was already spay/neutered, we still charged the standard $90. That is because we had other costs for the shelter that held that animal alive. Those costs included feeding, housing, cleaning, electrical and euthanasia of other animals. Also included was 2 months of "Shelterpet" pet insurance for an adopted animal and minor training. To me that is quite a bargain. We are in TN and many vet fees are significantly higher than our vets in our area. However, most areas outside of TN are much higher than our state. Our fee was quite reasonable and we are a non-profit. There are pure-breed rescues that charge more. However, you have to consider that purebreed rescues have to compete for the attention of those that want to adopt from breeders. Frankly, the dogs that purebreed rescues have for adoption CAME from purebred breeders. Our shelter would also adopt to legitimate "purebreed" rescue agencies simply for the price of spay/neuter ($35. By law in TN, you cannot let any animal leave your shelter without promise of spay/neuter. We eliminated the "if" factor and required that we do it before we let the animal go). I hope this post gives folks a broader understanding of the costs shelters are associated with.

ditto what sjerin said. If you're in the US you should be covered. Granted, maybe it will take longer for someone to get to you but there are some basic coverages that everyone should be entitled to. The government needs to set up municipalities to cover everywhere. (I can understand where some remote areas may also do a volunteer dept but it shouldn't be based on payment). Fire services should not be something a person chooses to buy or not.... Will the police go out there if needed, or do they need to pay a fee for the police too? Will FEMA venture out there if there is a natural disaster? I thougth fire personnel were public servants like police, and military...I didn't think anyone had to directly pay for their specific services. What if I am traveling in this county in a mobile home and it catches on fire...they just won't help? I'm not upset at the firemen and I understand their position in this case. I just don't think they or the home owner should ever have been put in this predicament. Government needs to account that many people are idiots and won't fork out money for fire protection. Neighbors shouldn't be allowed to put other neighbors in this danger. Government should control this...not allow individual stupid (possibly poor) and selfish homeowners make these decisions that can effect the public. And, again, what exacly would have happened if there was a child in the fire/house?

This is a wild and tumultuous free market. Many factors come into the building/offering of CCRCs. You MUST do a lot of research because if you make a mistake with your $$$$, nobody is going to come to your rescue and get it back. There are no real guarantees in the eldercare facility. First: Is the facility non-profit or for-profit? Non-profits rate better for care and lower staff turnover. But be aware that at any time, a non-profit can be bought by a for-profit corporation - in fact, many already have and this trend is increasing. This is not, repeat, not, to say that for-profits are always bad. Many are quite nice. Where we found the biggest difference was not at the Asst Living level, but at the Memory Care/skilled nursing (e.g., 24/7 care commonly called "nursing home" level care). At that level, the cost between non- and for-profits was noticeable. We're talking a $2-3K/monthly difference. Also, when staff turnover is high, care suffers at all levels. We've visited places where the daytime staff that one saw in the public areas were all smiles and welcoming, but at night the staff was indifferent and brusque - not just to visitors, but to residents! Cost is not as important as the type of social environment. "Like to like" should be the motto of these facilities. We investigated eight nearby full-service facilities for my MIL, and every one of them had a different social atmosphere. We did very intensive research and multiple visits, to ensure the one we picked would be the best for her while being a place she would enjoy the most. As most know from my other posts, we were successful. But it took months to achieve it. You can check a facility's inspection record through the appropriate state regulators. Ours are on-line and although it took a lot of time, it MUST be done. When I finished I had confidence the facility we chose was ranked third in the state and had only extremely minor issues, which were promptly corrected. So what is the cost? There are two big issues: one is the upfront buy-in cost; the other is the cost of 24/7 care. Due to state licensing requirements, most senior facilities find it easier to apply for an AL license for all their living units, rather than designating some as 'independent' and some as 'assisted'. For Asst. Living, we found little difference between the various facilities we saw. In our high labor cost state, "rent" ranged from $2800-$4000/mo., for smaller units that were either studios, junior studios, or 1 bdrm. Some had 1/2 baths, some had full baths. Not all had kitchens (we didn't want one; MIL had dementia so not safe for her to cook). Within Asst Living there were three levels of care, as determined by MIL's facility. The family can negotiate but it's the facility that decides what to charge extra for. Every facility is different but most have a similar type process. It can be expensive: MIL needed nothing more than daily medication help and weekly bathing assistance. That cost $900/mo. and was rated Level 1, the cheapest extra assistance pkg. Buy-ins vary enormously. With a larger buy-in you are paying for your monthly costs to never increase even if you need 24/7 care eventually. With a smaller buy-in if you need to move, your costs will be charged market rate. This may sound great but every facility we met with told us they raise rates 3-5% annually, every July, without fail. So if you go in at age 60, and need 24/7 care at age 85, what the facility is charging today will be more than double when you finally do go in. Will you have enough $$$$? And please, do not fall in with the common idea of "Well, at 85 I won't care, and I'll probably be dead anyway." My MIL was 84 when she went in. Imagine her shock to discover that among her three other tablemates at meals, she was considered "the baby"! People are living longer, and you might well be one of them. We're very happy we found a place that worked out so well for her, but it took effort on our part. I urge you not to short doing your research. Find a place that suits you, even if it is a little further from family. This is one of the most expensive decisions you will ever make, and you should never have to regret it.