to be annoyed about this situation with neighbour and her dog?

I dont believe she is too upset to contact you about her dog. That sounds very hard to believe. The dog has been abandoned. It won't be the first and it won't be the last. Your neighbour may not be home for another 2 weeks or more so you have no choice to report the poor dog as abandoned. Hope you have a lovely holiday.

OP I'd be pissed off too. I'd feel manipulated and made a mug of...especially given the message from the relative. Are they mad??

@CantGetBackToSleep

What a horrible situation to be put in.

Your neighbour is absolutely out of order, I was going to call her a swear word but out of respect for her loss . . . .

Completely understand that shes grieving but she has a responsibility to her dog and you, she's completely thrown you under the bus.

Slightly different but when my DM passed, despite our shock and grief our first thought was DMs dog, a helpless animal who had to be put first, shes now my much loved dog.

As dog lovers we would balk at taking a dog to the RSPCA but in this instance I don't think you have any choice.

I hope you get this sorted and get away on your holiday ❤️

I would also go to a vet. They will call the dog warden.

What are you planning to do then?

I once looked after a dog for a man in hospital and the vet wouldn’t treat him without the owner’s explicit consent. I doubt rescue would allow you to surrender someone else’s dog unless you were mistreating it although I don’t know this for certain so best to check with them if this is what you want to do. I imagine op and rescue could potentially be on pretty shaky legal ground.

Absolutely! And a responsible rescue won’t take a dog from someone who isn’t the owner anyway, that’s a way to get your rescue sued for theft.

Most rescues are snowed under with dogs and don’t have empty foster homes sitting waiting to take dogs suddenly, plus any dog needs to be assessed before intake which means a home visit from a volunteer.

If course she does. She sends the neighbour the following message -

Hi neighbour, I understand you are going through a tough time but you still have a responsibility to your dog. As I told you, I'm going on holiday today. I have contacted the dog warden and I'll be dropping dog off at midday if you haven't made other arrangements by then. I helped you out by taking him in and you ignoring me like this when you know I'm going away is completely unacceptable.

I wonder if there’s another neighbour who would take over? It would make things easier to organise. I can’t believe the neighbour has done this though. And I can’t believe their relative has not stepped in to help.

i would message your neighbour/the relative and say at 9am I’m calling the Dog Warden. Then just update with a message following what the dog warden says in the phone and following any actions, eg they say your dog will be collected at 11.30, he’s now been collected etc. I don’t see what else you can possibly do? If the relative has taken your neighbours phone due to her distress then it’s on them to be monitoring it and making arrangements…

If you want to be a real bitch you could put the dog on your local Facebook page offering it out to randoms, saying it’s been abandoned and tag your neighbour.

Have you called, preferably from a number they won't recognise? I honestly wouldn't be leaving messages that can sit unread and not responded to at this stage.

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all. You stepped in to help during an emergency, which was incredibly kind, but it was always agreed that it would only be until Friday. It's a really sad situation, and I feel for your neighbour, but she or another family member does need to make arrangements for the dog.

Good call OP, the vets is the best idea. I assume you’re a massive dog lover as you’ve 2 of your own. Every other idea, leaving it at her home, giving it to dog warden could possibly result in the dogs death. I know I couldn’t live with myself if I did that.

Ugh, I'm so sorry that you're having this stress, OP. I think dropping the dog at the vet's is the right call if she doesn't fork up for the kennels.

I can't believe she's done this to you. Irrespective of her mother's death (which obviously we all have great sympathy for), it would only take her a second to send you the payment for the kennels. Why isn't one of her relatives stepping up to help?!

Poor doggie. It has no idea what's going on.

ETA: Also, I agree with a pp: I'd call her at this point, rather than texting. Don't let her ignore this.

Do you have her house keys? If you can find a neighbour who could feed, water and let the dog out, I would drop it back at her house. Message her to tell her you've had to do this as she's ignored your request to sort out alternative care.

Geeze what's happened to kindness? I am sure OP can recoup the cost of kennels of vet charges from the owner

Poor dog. She might be in Scotland for weeks - you can’t kennel it.

You did her a lovey good turn. I can only assume she’s fallen to pieces. It’s the relative I blame - they should have stepped in to help. When she gets her head together your neighbour is going to feel a million times worse for abandoning her dog.

Oh wow! How irresponsible of her.
Taking the dog to its own vet is a good idea. They’ll be on at contacting her, and will bill her if necessary

If you do end up making a part payment at the kennels I hope you can do it in cash so that they don’t have your payment details on record. I’m so sorry you’re going through this OP after having such a genuinely kind thing 💐

Several posters have mentioned the Cinnamon Trust but not explained what it is. It's a charity that fosters pets for people who are in too poor health to keep them, can do short or longer term support depending on whether the owner is likely to recover. I agree that they are your best bet as they may have a local volunteer who can step in urgently. I'd try them ASAP and consider the vet as a backup, but the vet is not set up for this and how helpful they can be will vary very much between practices, whereas obviously this is the sort of thing that the Cinnamon Trust deals with all the time (albeit most people are more responsible than this!)

Poor doggy. My sympathies OP

If you're in Hampshire I'll look after it while you're away