The New Normal; First-World Problems

• An Oceanside, California, couple was surprised in November to discover that buying a purebred bichon frise on credit meant they were only leasing the dog for 27 months and would have to make a 28th payment to actually "own" Tresor. Furthermore, the lease, under a "repo" threat, required "daily exercise," "regular bathing and grooming" and "immediate" disposal of Tresor's "waste." A spokesperson for the store, Oceanside Puppy (which works with four finance companies), told the San Diego Union- Tribune that the arrangement is fairly standard now for expensive pets. [San Diego Union-Tribune, 11-28-2014]

• (1) NBC's "Today" show reported in December the "heartbreak" parents are feeling when they learn that the supposedly unique name ("wonderful, distinctive, rarely heard") they had given their infant in the last year or two (e.g., "Mason," "Liam," "Lily") actually appeared on BabyCenter's annual list of most popular names of 2014 (6th, 3rd and 8th, respectively). (2) After hearing tenants' complaints, the New York City Council is now considering a regulation requiring landlords to post notices if a common area or amenity is unusable for 24 hours or more -- which applies of course to elevators and laundry rooms, but would also extend to any air hockey or foosball facilities in the building. [NBC News, 12-2-2014] [Crain's New York, 12-8-2014]

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