Wow, It Has Been a Long Time Since I Posted Last

I am sorry to say that I really lost track of this blog. Nature by Dawn, Inc. is still in business and it is growing. www.PetAutoSafety.com is doing well and so is www.AnimalFigurineStore.com. We also have a couple of blogs - www.PetAutoSafetyBlog.com and http://AmericanDogBlog/wordpress.com. Perhaps the increased business and keeping up with two other blogs is is why we have forgotten about this blog. Blogging about dogs is fun. Blogging about business is not so fun.

Ok, so what has changed with Nature by Dawn, Inc. since our last post in 2009? We are still members of the Better Business Bureau, we still have great products and service, and we still love dogs!

We have opened a few Amazon.com a-stores. If you haven't heard of Amazon.com a-stores, they are just basically mini Amazon.com sites which sell Amazon products. We ourselves don't sell the Amazon products, but we build our a-stores so that they are product specific and provide easier access for customers. For example, our Dog Lover's Bookstore is an Amazon.com a-store for books about dogs. I personally read these books then put book reviews on the http://AmericanDogBlog/wordpress.com blog. If someone wants to purchase the book, they just click the link to the Dog Lover's Bookstore and purchase it from the Amazon.com a-store. You could go to Amazon.com and do a search for the same book, but it's much easier to visit the Dog Lover's Bookstore. And since it is an Amazon.com site, you know it is safe and secure. Our other Amazon.com a-stores include Indestructible Dog Toys, Dog Training Supplies, and Outdoor Dog Gear.

We are doing more local pet events this year. We decided not to spend $400+ for a booth at the Kansas City Pet Expo this year but will do several smaller pet events instead. Our next pet event is Woofstock at La Zona Rosa sponsored by Northland Animal Welfare Society (NAWS) on May 1st. Our next pet event is the Mutt 'n Strut at Watson Park sponsored by the Lawrence Humane Society on May 7th. If you are in the Kansas City area, we hope to see you there!

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Although we haven't made any big business changes, our sites are getting better and better - both in quality and size. Thanks for visiting! :0)

Follow Up Regarding Visitor Creation and Design

Jerry Hildreth did not send me the information he said he was going to send. I have not heard back from him and now all contact numbers I have for him are disconneted. Should I be surprised?

I have no reason to believe that Mr. Hildreth is now trying to run a legitimate company. Like Stone Image and Design, I believe that Visitor Creation and Design has the same bad ownership/management and they may be running a fraud or scam.

Fred Jerald Hildreth called me back!

After many calls and messages, the company owner finally called me back. He gave many reasons as to why it the sites he sold me did not make money. Perhaps those reasons are valid, but I can't be sure since I have found various reports from others which conflict his information. He seems willing to work with me on getting the situation resolved. However, there is a catch. I have to pay one year of monthly hosting fees which for some reason I was not charged in the past. Basically, I paid them $1,790 up front, then I was supposed to pay a monthly hosting fee. Now I recall a monthly hosting fee being spoke of when I initially bought the sites, but I am not currently finding it in my contract, and unitl last month, I have never been billed. I wouldn't purposely aviod paying any fees. I did recently moved, but I lived at my previous address for the entire 12 months I was supposed to be recieving service from them. But I never once got a bill until last month.

I can understand a need for hosting fees to be paid, but do I really want to pay them now and take the chance at losing $1,790 plus 12 months of hosting fees? I'm not sure. I have asked Mr. Hildreth for a written guarantee (which I also asked for several months ago) and for a new bill. I will look in my records again for a contract which states anything about hosting fees. If I can't find it, I will see if Mr. Hildreth can find it.

In the meantime, if you are considering doing business with Visitor Creation and Design, please put it off until this situation comes to a conclusion.

Follow Up on Fraud by Visitor Creation and Design

See my previous post about the company, Stone Image and Design. The company goes by a new name, Visitor Creation and Design. I have come in contact with other customers of Stone Image and Design and together we have confirmed that Jerry Hildreth, also known as Fred Jerald Hildreth, is committing fraud. If anyone from his company calls you, don't be fooled. He is going to take your money, make it look like he is doing something for a while, but in the end, you will get nothing and he will still have your money. Bob or Robert Browning is his new partner. It is not yet known whether Mr. Browning is aware that Mr. Hildreth is a fraud.

We Made a Bad Business Decision...

Last August, we elected to work with a business calling themselves Stone Image and Design. They offered to set up three informational sites about dogs for us. They did well in the beginning in keeping us informed about the status, but at some point, they stopped calling. We have left several messages but no one calls us back anymore.

Since we are working on getting our money back, we are doing a lot of research in locating this company and trying to call a number in which someone answers.

So far, we know that the company owner is Jerry or Jerald Hildreth. His company was also called Ace Promotions. You can find him by doing a Google Search on his name. His link is the one with LinkedIn. The company address at 2942 N. 24th St., Ste. 114, Phoenix, AZ 85016 is a "virtual" address. The company Executive Suites Plaza rents him the address and collects his mail for him, but Mr. Hildreth does not actually work with this company or even in this building. The website for Stone Image and Design has suddenly turned into a photography website, but the phone number on the site, (866)541-3541, is the same phone number as the web marketing company called Stone Image and Design. I was able to call that number earlier today, but now suddenly, I am not able to. It is a good thing I have Mr. Hildreth's direct number.

If anyone knows anything about this man or his fictitious company, please let us know by emailing us at animalfigstore@aol.com.

Our lesson has been learned. We now know to research a company before doing business with them. If you plan on working on the web, be sure to do research first. Google the company name and address, the CEOs name, find out how long the company has been in business, if the company located in the US, etc.

Metro Pet Magazine at Boat and RV Show in Kansas City

Metro Pet Magazine was at the Mid-America Boat and RV Show in Kansas City and Pet Auto Safety.com helped! The show was held at Bartle Hall in Downtown Kansas City on February 13-15, 2009. It will be held again this coming weekend at the same location, February 20-22, 2009. At the Mid-America Boat and RV Show, you will see actual boats and RVs, various vendors with boat and RV accessories, vendors for outdoor gear, interesting shows and demonstrations, and more!

Metro Pet Magazine had s booth there as well for those RV travelers who take their pets with them. Metro Pet handed out free January/February 2009 issues of their magazine and will be handing out more this coming weekend. Pet Auto Safety.com will be there to help.

New Pet Auto Safety Logo Featuring Maya

The company owner's dog, Maya, a yellow lab, was used to create the new Pet Auto Safety logo above. Time and time again, photos of Maya have been used to feature our dog seat belts or pose for our web sites. She is the dog on the top of our Pet Auto Safety Blog site, the dog featuring the black large dog seat belts, and she is the dog used in our magazine ads. And now she is the dog used to create our logo which will be featured on all our business correspondence for our Pet Auto Safety sites. We are looking for photos of other dogs to feature our dog seat belts. Check out our Win a Free Dog Car Seat Belt page on our Pet Auto Safety site for more information.