As you can see from the previous post Lost and Found Dog in College Station, we were able to help this beautiful 9 month old dog find his owner yesterday. Of course my kids wanted to keep him and add him to our family but getting him home to his rightful owner was much more rewarding.

But, the question here is if you lost your dog or found one you wanted to get back to its owner, where would you turn? Who would you call? Or, would you log in and go online?

First Raylene Lewis tried taking the dog to the vet. The dog was not microchipped and had no collar.

Then, we tried the Brazos Valley Animal Shelter and they took our information but we knew it could take time for them to match us up if the owner came in looking for their dog.

Tried finding a Lost and Found area on TxAgs but didn’t really find anything useable.

Posted an ad on Craigslist and WOW the help started flowing in. People offered to help find the owner, take the dog, foster the dog and help any way they could. I did not expect Craigslist to be the place to turn but it was the fasted and most effective. Searched a few posts back and YES!!! The pictures of the dog and a plea for help was posted. We quickly were able to find the owner.

Found out from a friend on Facebook that The Eagle would have also run an ad for free and would have tried to help if Craigslist hadn’t work.

I found it refreshing that we had several pretty easy ways to try to find the owner without having to drive and drive.

What have you used to find a lost owner?

Susan Hilton
979-764-2100

Ps – The Brazos Animal Shelter will microchip your dog for only $15. It is worth it!!!

Time for a “tail” of a good deed…

Raylene Lewis is notorious around Century 21 Beal for finding stray and lost animals and rescuing them. Friday was just another example of this Realtor going above and beyond to help animals.

Raylene found a beautiful dog lost and in danger on Texas Ave near the College Station police station on Friday morning. The dog was very near being hit by a car so she stopped and picked up the dog. The dog had no collar so she took the scared dog to her vet at Wellborn Animal Clinic. The vet checked out the dog and found no microchip. (and, yes Raylene paid the vet bill)

Later in the day Raylene picked up the dog to try to find the owner. Through Craigslist the owner was found Saturday morning. The owner had lost the dog Friday morning and was desperately hunting. When owner and dog were matched up there was a great deal of tail wagging and tears.

THANK YOU Raylene Lewis for going above and beyond to help this dog and owner find each other.

Beautiful new HUD foreclosure soon to be available! Probably will be available with only $100 down with good credit. Want to check it out before it officially goes on the market? Call me!
Susan 979-764-2100

Thank you Michelle Taylor for arranging it!

Susan

The City of College Station is ranked by The Business Journals as the brainiest city in Texas among those with populations between 50,000 and 100,000. Some 28 percent of College Station residents hold a bachelor’s degree and another 28.23 percent have a graduate or professional degree. A lot of this has to do with Texas A&M faculty as well as so many Aggies staying here after graduation!

The Business Journals ranked 483 mid-sized U.S. cities using 2009 U.S. Census Data. The rankings were based on the percentage of population with each level of educational attainment.  Not only were we #1 in Texas, but College Station ranked No. 31 nationally.

So, next time someone makes an Aggie joke, make sure and let them know that they are actually making fun of the smartest city in all of Texas!

If you own a home and have made a decision to go through with a “Short Sale” there are some important things you need to know.

•  What is my future debt responsibility?
•  What are my tax implications?
•  How will this affect my credit now and in the future?

These are all questions that can be answered by me or I will direct you on.

Another issue is the credit that is affected during a “Short Sale”. If a “Short Sale” is negotiated but a delinquency is reported, the credit would be affected approximately 50-140 points. The score will also depend on the amount of late or non-payments made before the close of escrow. When a home is foreclosed on the credit would be affected approximately 150-300 points and this will stay on the public record for 7 years or more.  To find more information on Foreclosure vs. Short Sale in regards to future loan potential, credit history, credit score, current employment, security clearances and future employment visit the Certified Distressed Property Expert at www.cpde.com.

Susan Hilton

Wonder what businesses are eligible? American Express says…. “Eligible small business merchants are independently owned small businesses located in the United States that accept the American Express Card. Purchases made at large or national chain stores, at franchised business locations and at government agencies are not eligible. Prepaid, Corporate Cards and ExpressPay transactions are not eligible. ”

After you register your card on American Express look on Facebook (click the links to get to the sites you need) and you can search by zip code to see which small businesses are available. I found most local smaller businesses (that take the American Express card) are on the list!

A friend of mine sent me an email a while back about why we should buy local and how much buying local affects our LOCAL economy.  The email sent to me may have been written by someone else so if I am plagiarizing I apologize!  Below is the message. Are you going to buy local this year or send your money to another country instead?

GREAT Christmas thought from a friend – Where are you spending YOUR money?

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.

This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Oh…. Yes there is! It is time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese-made flat-screen TV? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a gazillion owner-run restaurants — all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.

Remember, folks this isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip.

And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre. Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community.

If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US (We the People), encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we could not imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition!!

If you haven’t seen Farrah Spears, Realtor with Century 21 Beal, with her boots on checkout this video!!!

Farrah has helped bring awareness and support to the Boot Campaign in Bryan College Station. The campaign was started by the Boot Girls! Check out the campaign and thank Farrah for her support of the troops!

Aggieland Boot Campaign

Get Your Boots On & Support Our Troops

The homeowner needs to have their information ready before meeting with the mortgage company. The homeowner needs to have an explanation ready regarding their current financial situation and demonstrate their inability to make mortgage payments. There are many short sale programs that can be found on the internet available to people looking into short sales.

Susan Hilton

Unfortunately a lot of times we don’t realize that there are those in our community who don’t know where their next warm meal will come from, where they will sleep, or if their children will be warm enough this winter!  We don’t see it a lot, but it does exist more than you could even imagine!

This year, my kids and I decided that we would like to help those who are less fortunate than the majority of us in Bryan/College Station. We have started a coat/blanket drive in Castlegate with the donations going to the Twin City Mission!  What started as a small project has taken flight.  My daughter and I printed out about 100 fliers and asked a few of her friends to help us pass them out in our subdivision!  The kids have all gotten so into it that it has amazed me!  They just light up when people ask about how to donate!  Now it is on the Castlegate website and on Facebook!

It’s very simple if you want to get involved!  We are taking donations at 2445 Newark Circle today from 4-6 and tomorrow 9-11 am!  All you have to do is drive up to the curb and we’ll grab them from you.  If that time isn’t convenient, you can call me at 979-229-0919 and we can pick them up.  You can also drop them by the Century 21, Beal offices located at 404 H University Drive East at your leisure.

The kids are waiting to take your Coats and Blankets to give to the less fortunate!

We have a lot to be thankful for Aggieland, so let’s get out there and make this winter a little warmer for our Brazos Valley Neighbors!

For more information, give Farrah Spears a call at 979-229-0919