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Jim Middlestat - Avoiding my calls?

Art Klass

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I sincerely hope there is an explanation for what I am posting. In March of last year I loaned a proven male 9' pastel boa constrictor (BCI) to Jim Middlestat of Little Rock, Arkansas. His last name may be spelled differently. I met Jim at the local herp club and he seemed like a stand-up guy. He's a doctor, for what it's worth. He called me at home and asked me if I could loan him a big male boa. We discussed that it was late in the season and the boa had already bred my largest female. He wanted to try, so he came to my home and picked him up.

I kept in touch with him over the next few months. Please note that he has never, not once, returned any of my calls. I had to always call back every few days until he answered. I called him before summer and told him that I had a crazy summer lined up. I lived in the Little Rock area and had work in Springfield, MO and five trips to Vegas. He said he would hold onto the boa. No problem.

As autumn began my family was in the process of moving to Springfield, (four hours away), so I go contacted Jim for my boa. He wanted to breed it with his female and I agreed to allow him to do so being that he's been feeding it and hasn't been able to breed it yet. That was late September. I've called and left messages every month since without a response. I just wanted to check on my boy.

I left several messages over the holidays with no returned call. I fully understand that he may have been out of town. Since New Years I have been calling several times daily. Not a peep from Jim.

I've gone from concern to anxious and am approaching freak out level. My messages to jim have been escalating, but I haven't crossed the line yet.
I have given him my email address thinking he would be more comfortable contacting me this way.

Any support, advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I do not want to blow this out of proportion. He may have a viable reason for not contacting me.

I do not have his email address, his home address or any other information other than his home phone. I know where he works, but i'm not posting it....yet. This is my word against his. Am I over reacting? I am going to leave him a message regarding this post. Thanks for your help, Art Klass
 
Hey Art,
If things are as you say, then you have every right to be as intrusive and as big of a pain in the butt as possible. With the escalation to the BOI, give him a couple of days, but then call his work as often as you are able, and anything else that you can think of. Its not hard to return a call a day or two late, and you do not need to conjure up excuses for him. I'm glad he's not a doctor anywhere near where I might end up having to rely in him !
 
What I don't understand is why he is not returning my calls. If something happened to my boa then I can understand it being a tough phone call to make. It has to be addressed sooner or later and the longer he waits, the worse it will be. Art
 
Don't look for a ratonal explanation where there isn't one. Assuming your post is accurate, he has no regard for the property of others when it suits him to ignore you. He has what he wants, and really is not concerned about any obligation to you.
 
I have been avoiding playing hardball. It seems like it's time. I just wanted to give him every opportunity to make this right. Hopefully the BOI will be a good kick in the pants. Art
 
Correction and Update:

I have learned that Jim's last name is spelled Mittelstaedt. Jim is the President Emeritus of the Central Arkansas Herpetological Society. I would think that someone in this position would be eager to rectify this situation. I also learned of his email address and as soon as I can figure out how to post the email I sent to him I will do so. Art Klass
 
First email

This is the first email that I sent to Jim. Hopefully I will get a response. Art Klass
 

Attachments

  • Returning my boa.txt
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Sorry to hear this, Art,

I am the current president of the Central Arkansas Herpetological Society and
I should see Jim at our monthly meeting next Thursday. I will bring this post to his attention.
I am certain Jim will rectify the situation, as I believe he is a stand up guy.

Best regards,

Jeff Snodgres
 
No worries, Art,

That's what the BOI is for and I am certain that you and Jim will have everything squared away in short order...

Best regards,

Jeff
 
Jim,
I just learned of your email address and I wanted to communicate to you the importance of resolving this matter as soon as possible. After many attempts of trying to reach you by phone I want to take every necessary step to ensure that I am heard. I am certain that we can work something out if you are willing to communicate with me. I believe there are two acceptable solutions to this delima.

1. Return my boa. I loaned him to you healthy and expect nothing less than this. If this is, for some reason, unable to happen, then;

2. I will accept a replacement boa of equal value (of my choice or approval).

Again Jim, my intention is to work this out and we can go our seperate ways. If you continue to ignore my attempts to communicate with you I will have no choice but to escalate this to whatever level necessary to attain satisfaction. I will not be ignored and I will not go away.

In case you didn't get my message I started a thread on Fauna Classifieds at the BOI (Board of Inquiry) forum. Please feel free to post at this site as well.

Regards, Art Klass

This is the email I sent to Jim thisafternoon. Art Klass
 
Update:

To date I have not heard from Jim regarding the return of my boa. I continue to call him and leave messages daily. I have just sent him the following email as well.
 
Jim,

I have been trying to contact you for quite some time now and I have not heard from you at all. I am certain that no matter what the problem is we can work it out if you would contact me. I would sincerely like to resolve this peacefully in an adult manner and put a happy ending on this.

Everyone I discuss this with who knows you considers you a good guy and I see no reason why we can't fix this. Kindly call or email me.

Regards, Art Klass
 
The following is an email sent to Jim on 1-12-06. My calls continue to go unanswered and my messages ignored. Art klass

Jim,

I have been very patient waiting to hear from you regarding the return of my boa and you continue to just blow me off. I'm really tired of this nonsense. It's time for you to step up and be a man. The longer you refuse to contact me the more damage you do to your reputation. As you well know I have started a thread on the Board of Inquiry forum at Fauna Classifieds. It's time to respond to what I have posted. The herp community is a small tightly knit group. Do you not care what is happening? You are making this worse on yourself. Why??

It's time to contact me. I feel i'm backed into a corner with no options left other that to escalate this to the next level. I would rather work this out here and now. Quit acting like a child! Call me, email me or post on Fauna.

Art Klass
 
Art, your frustration is understandable

And I think that your email to Jim demonstrates that very well. I also think you'd agree that when you include statements to someone like
I'm really tired of this nonsense. It's time for you to step up and be a man. (and) ..... Quit acting like a child!
that they are not likely to encourage a response. Not to fault you there, as I think the most important idea to be taken from your note is that you intend to take this to a law-enforcement, formal complaint, litigation etc., level. Those word choices do reinforce a belief that your patience is at an end. I wish you luck in your pursuits, and hope that you will resurrect this thread from time to time, not only to keep us posted, but also to continue to put Jim's name "up in lights" until he fixes this.
 
Jim Flaherty - Thanks for your posting and your support. I fully realized the position I was putting him in before I posted the email. If he was going to contact me he would have already have done so. At this point I have nothing to lose. Art
 
Art, you stated this:

Jim is the President Emeritus of the Central Arkansas Herpetological Society.

Many of us wish that the scope of the BOI were far more broad than it currently is. Besides whatever actions you take outside of this forum, have to hope that you inquiries here, or in other forums, might cause someone to come forward who may know Jim, of his current situation, and will volunteer some neutral information that may help you. If the above title were worth a hill-of-beans, than the stigma of this situation would seem to be able to influence those who bestowed the title on him.

I know that the board prefers a screenshot, but this link is here as a means of pursuit now, and I do not feel rises to the level requiring a screen shot. Here is the link to an important info page to that herp society:

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/harbard/cahshome/cahshome.html

It is recently updated, with further current links to ways to contact them, including the "vice-president emeritus" and a phone number for her. You may be able to interest her in this thread, and since it reflects on an organization that she puts some effort into, she may be able to help without taking sides. Keep us posted.
 
Sorry to hear this, Art,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am the current president of the Central Arkansas Herpetological Society and
I should see Jim at our monthly meeting next Thursday. I will bring this post to his attention.
I am certain Jim will rectify the situation, as I believe he is a stand up guy.

Best regards,

Jeff Snodgres


Jeff,
Were you able to discuss this situation with Jim last night at the herp meeting?
 
Yes..

Art,

I was able to speak with Jim last night, regarding your situation. I informed him of this thread and he informed me that he would contact you.
Whether Jim contacts you directly or via this thread, I am not for certain, but he understands the need to rectify the situation. while I am in no way going to defend Jim's behavior, regarding his lack of contact, I will let you know that he was recently involved in a serious accident and out of pocket for a while.
If I can be of any further service, please do not hesitate letting me know...

Best regards,

Jeff
 
Maybe I'm not looking at this correctly.

But if he was injured in a car accident and having a rough time with money, would it not be appropriate to assume that he would want to eliminate any *extra* responsibilities he had at home? Big snakes are not cheap to feed, why would he choose to keep it and continue feeding it as opposed to just giving Art a call and letting him come take his snake back?
 
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