Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 As a busy rescuer I normally have a few fosters to care for as well as my own dogs. Back in 2013, an older lady adopted a small dog from me that was a great little dog. She's in a retirement village with neighbours who always help and support each other in times of need - about 1.5 hr drive from me. When I did the adoption, as I always do with an older person, I said that should anything untoward happen - hospital etc, I'd be happy to care for the little dog until she was well again. What she didn't tell me was that she goes on cruises twice yearly - often for a month at a time so needs to find the dog some care at those times. Her neighbours often step in. She has contacted me each time to mind the dog but I've often been unwell and the neighbours have stepped in. Last year they couldn't and I found someone nearby to care for the dog for no charge. She didn't turn up with the dog and I contacted her to find out what happened and her neighbour had again taken the dog. Last year when she approached me again, I wrote and explained that as a rescuer I had not intended to be a dog minder, twice a year for 1 month because it would mean I had to save a space when pound dogs were in greater need. Caring for her dog means driving 1.5 hrs to pick up and then taking the dog back and as she goes away mid week, this means that I would end up caring for the dog for 5-6 weeks at a time. I hadn't heard anything for many months and thought the message had gotten through and then yesterday I got an email saying "Can you mind xxx in March? You promised to look after her and I don't want to put her in kennels." I just wrote and asked for the time period and it will be right across Easter and for nearly 6 weeks. Has anyone else had this happen to them? As much as I loved the dog, I really think this is unreasonable. How did you handle it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha bet Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 You stated you would help out if anything happened..... which implies if there is a problem.... that is a great idea but perhaps you did not explain this clearly to her and boundaries should be in place. Going on holidays is not a problem it is a choice.... she can afford to go on a holiday for 6 weeks she should be adding the cost of the dog going into a kennel as part of the holiday cost.... she can afford cruises twice a year for a month or so she can definitely afford to pay for her dog. Expecting you to drive a 3 hour round trip is ridiculous. You are being abused by this woman..... she is not respecting you nor is she taking responsibility for her dog.... pass the buck back to her and set clear boundaries in future homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 My first response is that there's a lot of difference between minding a dog because the older person has a health-related emergency.... like going into hospital for a week... & going on a cruise for a month. Good luck to her that she can have that pleasure ... but it's nothing to do with a rescuer whose offer was more in relation to medical/health emergencies. I notice she says she doesn't want her dog to go into kennels when her arrangements with neighbours can't happen. With our smallies, we have first off the rank mutual arrangements with neighbours & friends re minding. But we always have the fall-back position of having sourced the most reliable kennels that have proven to be fantastic, so our girls love going there The lady needs to do the same .... re her holiday periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 I'd recommended a local place that is a pet resort, comes highly recommended and I know it's good ... not the same as a kennel but she's obviously not willing to send the dog there, I doubt she's even really looked at it. She does drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melzawelza Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I don't think you're being unreasonable, maybe just remind her that you offered to help if anything untoward happened - such as going on to hospital or some other unforseen issue. Holdays aren't part of that and you aren't able to take the dog. I think just putting your foot down at this point is all you can do. Maybe recommend some in-house pet sitting services if she's worried about kennels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 This is a bit hard. She is taking advantage of you and you should point that out, that a planned holiday - is not the same as an emergency hospital visit. And that she should plan for her dog to be cared for professionally. Suggest you offer to look after the dog for twice (or more) what the pet resort would cost - ie add an hourly rate for getting the dog and dropping it off. Tell her she is stealing that money from the rescue if she continues to expect you to mind her pet while she's on holidays. If she doesn't want to keep the dog - then you can offer to take it back. Ie the name should be transferred back to you and you can rehome the dog with someone with better boundaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 You need to stand up for yourself! You have enough on your plate with working full time and all the little ones in need you care for. This lady is taking the piss! I would tell her you only agreed to emergency care and that it is her responsibility to find care for the dog if she chooses to go away. If she cant mange it ask if she would rather give the dog back? Or you could say yes you will do it, provided it is delivered to your door, at her cost, and she pays you $35 a day , upfront! See what she says to that one. I hate to see you taken advantage of , its not on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 You need to stand up for yourself! You have enough on your plate with working full time and all the little ones in need you care for. This lady is taking the piss! I would tell her you only agreed to emergency care and that it is her responsibility to find care for the dog if she chooses to go away. If she cant mange it ask if she would rather give the dog back? Or you could say yes you will do it, provided it is delivered to your door, at her cost, and she pays you $35 a day , upfront! See what she says to that one. I hate to see you taken advantage of , its not on. Agree. She's being very cheeky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 You need to stand up for yourself! You have enough on your plate with working full time and all the little ones in need you care for. This lady is taking the piss! I would tell her you only agreed to emergency care and that it is her responsibility to find care for the dog if she chooses to go away. If she cant mange it ask if she would rather give the dog back? Or you could say yes you will do it, provided it is delivered to your door, at her cost, and she pays you $35 a day , upfront! See what she says to that one. I hate to see you taken advantage of , its not on. OK - I've written back and said all of the above. Let's see what the response is! I didn't say $35 a day, I went down to $20 but let's see how we go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 i need to be your PA :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) I've had dogs come back to stay while their owners were on holiday but it wasn't expected of me and the owners always offered to pay and always dropped off/collected the dog. I know the dogs would be more comfortable with me than in kennels so if I have space, I'm happy to do it. That said.. if I had an adopter who behaved like the woman described, I'd be putting my foot down. Offering to help when needed is already above and beyond the usual (the RSPCA certainly don't offer that sort of support) and abusing that offer is shitty behaviour. Edited January 20, 2016 by Maddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Had a reply to my email saying she'd forgotten that I work fulltime and am obviously too busy to assist and she won't bother me again. She had arranged a minder and it's fallen through. I replied to say that my neighbour would do the minding for $20 per day. I also added that I hoped there was no issue with paying for dog minding as this should be part of any pet owner's holiday budget. I've reiterated that there are house sitters etc that won't cost anything ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keetamouse Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I now ask for half the daily rate that kennels charge and people are happy to pay it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 well done for standing firm! And dont forget its over easter so kennels charge even more then too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 well done for standing firm! And dont forget its over easter so kennels charge even more then too. Have had a good result! Just had a phone call from the lady to let me know that they had gone through one of the sites I'd found for house sitters and have a couple coming to house sit for the month. References have been very good and one of them works from home so will be there to keep the little dog company during the day, as she's used to. Mature couple who are constant pet / house sitters whilst they save to buy their own place. Wonderful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Oh Yay. Sometimes when you stand up for yourself and say what you want - you actually get it... Especially when you make it reasonably easy for the other person to do the right thing (like finding them contact details or how to find contact details of someone else who would do the job). :) Must be a quite a load of stress off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Have had a good result! Just had a phone call from the lady to let me know that they had gone through one of the sites I'd found for house sitters and have a couple coming to house sit for the month. References have been very good and one of them works from home so will be there to keep the little dog company during the day, as she's used to. Mature couple who are constant pet / house sitters whilst they save to buy their own place. Wonderful [/quote] Great result! It was really a communication blip that needed sorting out. The lady had over-interpreted your offer to look after her dog. Not only did you clarify precisely what you meant, but you went the extra mile and sourced some options for her. That was decent. The 'sitter' solution may also give her reassurance her home is being looked after while she's away, as well as her dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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