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Old 06-03-2009, 06:18 AM
 
261 posts, read 941,473 times
Reputation: 282

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I just wanted some insight as to how some of you would respond to or how you would feel if this happened to you.

To keep confusion at a minimum I will use neighbor/friend "A" and "B"

Also, we have a 2 year old 63 pound Staffordshire Terrier
1 five month old mix puppy
3 Full grown cats

Over the last six months my partner and I have made arraignments with our friend and neighbor "A" to house/pet sit for us when out of town. On June 25th our nephew graduates from high school in California, we live in WI. We had sat down with our friend/neighbor "A" 3 months ago with our individual calendars and had marked all the dates we or they would be gone and confirmed the dates each other would be needed for house/pet sitting. A week ago, while out of town, over the phone my friend/neighbors "A" husband made an off hand comment regarding their upcoming trip, at the end of June. I thought I must have heard him wrong and asked my partner to speak to his wife (our friend) "A" about it to clarify. Low and behold, our friend "A" had made vacation plans for June 19 - 30. My partner brought to her attention that they were supposed to be pet/house sitting for us, she responded with an apology of forgetfulness and claimed to have not checked her calendar before committing to the vacation with her husband. This would normally not be a big deal, but now I do not get to go to my nephew’s graduation because I have no one else available at this late notice to pet/house sit for us.

We told our friend/neighbor "A" that I would have to miss my nephew’s graduation and her response is, "We really should let the other neighbor "B" and her 16 year old daughter come by and care for our pets and house". The kicker is, our other neighbor "B" is terrified of one of our dogs (full Staffordshire terrier) and our friend/neighbor "A" has told us numerous times that she does not think the other neighbor "B" cares well for her "A" dog and cats when they went out of town before we moved here. Neighbor “B” has actually referred to our 2 year old dog as “that dog.” Also, the 16 year old is a very nice girl, but lacking in some maturity as expected from a rural teen, like jumping up and down on our living room couch at our last BBQ, with no reprimanding from either of her parents who were sitting there too.

Additionally, friend "A" says we should spend a few nights at her house over the next two weeks to acclimate our 2 dogs (1 is a 5 month old puppy) to spending the night alone. First off, our 2 year old dog has only spent 2 nights in 2 years alone, second we will be gone for 7 days, and last but not least her "A" suggestion is that neighbor "B" will come over and let the dogs out during the day and maybe play with them a little at feeding time. Considering I have spent 2 years training the older dog and the puppy is still in training, 7 days of minimal contact with people to me seems very unrealistic as an appropriate option. We also work from home, so 7 days with little interaction is a concern for us.

It seems to me neighbor/friend "A" is trying to justify her mistake by offering unrealistic alternatives. Are we just over protective pet owners, or is the most responsible choice of staying home and missing my nephew’s graduation right?

Thank you in advance for the time you take to read or respond to this question.
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Old 06-03-2009, 06:36 AM
 
518 posts, read 2,523,406 times
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have you looked into kennels? some kennels are very good and the dogs have a lot of interaction with humans. you just have to be careful and check it out before you go or talk to other pet owners in town and see what they do
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Old 06-03-2009, 06:46 AM
 
Location: Kirkwood, DE and beautiful SXM!
12,054 posts, read 23,241,407 times
Reputation: 31917
As you have found it, it is very difficult to depend on neighbors if they are doing it for free. I would suggest that you contact your vet's office and see who they recommend. Many times vet techs house/pet sit on the side. Also, National Association of Professional Pet Sitters is the National Association of Professional Petsitters. There will be someone in your area who petsits as a business. That is always the best way to go. You will interview them and select the one who will work best for you. Make sure that they have insurance and check references carefully. See how your pets react to them. When we travel, we either use our neighbor who is in grad school and we pay him well to house/pet sit or our regular daily dog walker. This is a business arrangement and that is what you need. Good luck and attend the graduation.
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Old 06-03-2009, 06:46 AM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
16,806 posts, read 39,767,938 times
Reputation: 17679
Quote:
Originally Posted by QwertyFarmer View Post
It seems to me neighbor/friend "A" is trying to justify her mistake by offering unrealistic alternatives.
That's the way it looks to me. There isn't much else you can do except accept him for the flake he is and bite the bullet about not attending your nephew's graduation. Your pets come first. However, I wouldn't lose a cordial relationship with your neighbor over this. This isn't the hill you want to die on.

Quote:
Originally Posted by QwertyFarmer View Post
Are we just over protective pet owners, or is the most responsible choice of staying home and missing my nephew’s graduation right?
As I said above, your pets come first. If kenneling is not an option, you cancel your trip. Look at it this way... wouldn't you rather find out about the neighbor's flaky nature before your animals are left in his/her care? Who knows what might happen to them while you're gone.
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Old 06-03-2009, 06:48 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,440,049 times
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I don't think you're being overprotective in the least and would absolutely not trust the "Bs" with your dogs. Time to work on making other arrangements with someone else although I know that's not easy.

In the meantime, is there any good pet boarding facility in your area worth taking a look at? As far as the nephew's graduation is concerned, and depending on which of you is closest to the nephew, could one of you go and the other stay home? I know that's far from the ideal situation but just a thought to salvage at least part of this rotten turn of events.

I would be FURIOUS to say the least but I wouldn't lose an otherwise friendly neighbor over it. Just bite your tongue, let them know you're very disappointed and leave it at that while trying to find an alternative solution.

Good luck!
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Old 06-03-2009, 07:13 AM
 
Location: California
10,090 posts, read 42,268,262 times
Reputation: 22173
Quote:
Originally Posted by STT Resident View Post
I don't think you're being overprotective in the least and would absolutely not trust the "Bs" with your dogs. Time to work on making other arrangements with someone else although I know that's not easy.

In the meantime, is there any good pet boarding facility in your area worth taking a look at? As far as the nephew's graduation is concerned, and depending on which of you is closest to the nephew, could one of you go and the other stay home? I know that's far from the ideal situation but just a thought to salvage at least part of this rotten turn of events.

I would be FURIOUS to say the least but I wouldn't lose an otherwise friendly neighbor over it. Just bite your tongue, let them know you're very disappointed and leave it at that while trying to find an alternative solution.

Good luck!
Agree completely!
This is why I never depend on neighbors or friends for this type of thing. Their vacation was more important to them, then then the care of your animals.
Can you maybe board the dogs...and leave the cats...depending on how long you will be gone, the cats, with lots of fresh water and food and extra litter boxes would be fine. ( I say this, only because cats usually would prefer to be left at home than go to a boarding facility) Maybe there is someone who you trust to come in and just check on the cats?
Maybe ask at your vets. Every vet we have ever used had a staff of vet techs who were willing to house and pet sit for a fee. Whatever you decide, I would erase the "A"s off my list!
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Old 06-03-2009, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Ladysmith,Wisconsin
1,587 posts, read 7,502,553 times
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I would stay home before let someone not sure could trust watch my animals. It is a nephew, not a son so not as bad and have good excuse not to go. To bad had to happen but that is life at times.
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Old 06-03-2009, 10:17 AM
 
Location: Lemon Grove, CA USA
1,055 posts, read 4,105,322 times
Reputation: 960
I wouldn't ask my neighbors to do this. I would much prefer a professional. Kind of like loaning your friends money... it never seems to work out well in the end.
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Old 06-04-2009, 10:34 AM
 
Location: Mountains of middle TN
5,245 posts, read 16,356,956 times
Reputation: 6130
I'm all for finding a boarding facility or seeing if the tech at your vet's office does sitting on the side. I know mine does and I've talked with a lot of other people that say their tech does as well.

Def not allow B to sit though. I'm very picky about who cares for my pets. B would not qualify in my book. No one calls my dogs 'that dog' and is trusted with them.

And I don't think they flaked at all. I think they just decided to do something themselves and could give a doo less what your plans were. They seem pretty selfish to me. Why don't they cancel their plans? You had yours first.
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Old 06-08-2009, 05:35 PM
 
Location: Missouri
6,044 posts, read 24,020,451 times
Reputation: 5182
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fontucky View Post
That's the way it looks to me. There isn't much else you can do except accept him for the flake he is and bite the bullet about not attending your nephew's graduation. Your pets come first. However, I wouldn't lose a cordial relationship with your neighbor over this. This isn't the hill you want to die on.
ditto. Don't let this ruin the friendship, but I would let it go at this point. Better that you know now. I would not cancel the trip unless you are unable to secure a better sitter. Ask your vet, and perhaps other pet-owning friends, if they can recommend anyone.
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