to expect her to pay the full amount?

[ameliarose78]

About a year ago I met Z through a dog club, we have the same type of dog and we met up a few times.

Z has a mental illness and as such doesn't work and relies on a pension, her DP works full time - no DC.

She put a post on FB asking if anyone could mind her dog for 2 weeks while her and dp went on holiday - I said I could, she offered to pay me but I said there was no need.

During said dog's stay at my house, she jumped onto my bedside draws from my bed and ate a piece of dark chocolate. As she is a very small dog this was a toxic level and I had to bring her to the vet for emergency treatment - total bill was 300 quid.

I asked her owner to pay me back for this. This was roughly 6 weeks ago and as yet I haven't seen any money - just saying how hard it is for them, how they can't afford it and promising to have paid it numerous times and have had it 'bounce back'.

So AIBU to ask her to pay the full sum and should I go round to her house and ask her for it?

What was the dog doing in the bedroom in the first place?! Animals don't belong in bedrooms! Imagine all the hairs, mites, dander, fleas, slobber etc that it would leave behind! Bleugh!

Your vet is BU for charging £300. What treatment did the dog need? One of mine ate chocolate once and the vet charged £50 to make her throw it up. Incidentally, if they'd told me how they were going to make the dog sick it was something I could have done for free at home. Apparently they mix up a paste of soda crystals with a little water and then put a small amount in the dog's mouth which is enough to make them sick.

What's important here is whether the "friend" has agreed to pay and is just taking her time getting the money together. If she has agreed to pay, all the comments about it being the OP's fault are irrelevant. If this is the case, a payment plan sounds the way forward.

If the "friend" isn't happy to pay, however, then, OP, I would not offer to have the dog again, even for an afternoon. You clearly are in no position to pay the bill, especially if the dog doesn't have insurance.

I'm gonna say YANBU op. It's your friends dog and so she should pay! I'm a dog owner myself and would expect to pay if this were my dog.

(Sorry - in case it's not clear / I'm agreeing with you, bakeoff)

Dogs are unpredictable; they're animals.

If my dog ate a friend's shoe while at her house, I'd pay for the shoe.

If it muddied her rug, I'd have the rug cleaned.

If it ate her chocolate off the table, I'd pay for the vet bills.

My pet, my liability. Especially if I've asked someone else to mind it as a favour.

She may not want to leave her dog with anyone else again after this!

I think 50/50 would be fair.

She should pay something, after all she would have paid boarding fees, but it was an avoidable vets visit.

Split the cost.

But it was the op's fault. She left the chocolate out and accessible. it's not as though the dog was rooting around where it shouldn't. Why should the owner pay for the OP's mistake? Sure it's her dog but the op caused the problem. I'd be raging if someone got my dog ill through their own actions then tried to get me to pay the costs of their mistake!

You let the dog be hurt, so the bill is yours.

And why did it need the vet? Was it actually ill, or did you just take it in for observation? Whilst chocolate is often considered toxic, it generally has to be massive quantities to actually cause the dog problems. If the dog wasn't ill and you took it in and the vet charged ridiculous amounts of money for something that was unnecessary, then I can really see why she has no intention of paying you.

Just reread the OP & she has agreed to pay.

So I would have thought all you can do is try to get some plan in place as in x per month if she can't pay it all in one go.

Pet insurance covers a named dog, doesn't it?

Ie Op couldn't have paid the vet through her own insurance?

Just looking at it from another way, had the dog died, would you have been happy to reimburse her for the cost of another dog?

I know this isn't the point of the thread but is a bit of dark chocolate really that dangerous to a dog?

I don't think I'd have taken it to the vets in the first place but given you did, and it was your fault it happened YABU asking for the money back.

Dogs are just a Pita eating poison. If it were my dog, I would accept that it was an unfortunate accident, and be grateful that the dog was alive and well thanks to your swift action taking it to the vet. I would pay the bill.

Whatever happens with the payment, OP, I definitely wouldn't look after the dog again. She is no friend if she has offered to pay, but is making you chase her for payment.

If she doesn't want to pay, she should be honest enough to tell you.

Perhaps the friend is just waiting for the ok to come to her senses and realise how cheeky it is to ask her to pay for her mistake..

I know this isn't the point of the thread but is a bit of dark chocolate really that dangerous to a dog?

Chocolate is toxic to dogs

A large dog eating a small amount of milk chocolate might not have a problem

A small dog eating dark chocolate could potentially be fatal

It's best not to take the risk

If the dog is that tiny how did it get on the bed? If you put it there, then put the chocolate next to it, it's kind of obvious what's going to happen! It's not really fair to blame the dog for 'stealing' food, it's a dog not a person, they don't have the same thought processes.

In this case, I think it's clear that they don't have the money to pay you back, so I'd either let it go and don't offer again or ask them to pay half back in instalments.

Oh my word so bewildered by all the harsh response to the OP.

A pet owner myself I know how complicated and expensive pet care is, 2 weeks care- for free is amazing of the OP to have accepted and so kind. It would have cost at least £300 had the dog had organised/paid for care for that time.

Had she charged her friend, fine, but she didn’t, and think the friend should definitely pay up.
Unless shed given a specific list of hazards/things to keep away from the dog, these things happen and be asking someone to look after your dog in their care you do this knowing there are risks- the OP is not a [professional dog walker/vet etc. (and friend knows this full well and was happy to leave dog, for free, knowing this) and just trying to live her life while having the upheaval of a dog living with her for 2 weeks!
The whole vet incident would have been time consuming and stressful enough as it is.

I'm in both camps.

As an owner I would pay as I wouldn't want someone doing me a favour to be out of pocket. I would have been at least £300 down if I had used kennels. Also I know these things happen.

As the person looking after the dog I would be so mortified that I wouldn't dream of asking for the money.

You pay. At best, split it.

You left the chocolate out, you should pay.

Why did you pay the vet and not inform them that the o was on holiday and would pay on their return?

What does her having a mental illness have to do with it?

YABU You chose to do this job free of charge which was very kind of you but having accepted the role you also accepted the responsibilities and I would say that keeping poison out of the animal's reach was a pretty obvious part of those responsibilities. You failed to do this, put the animal's life at risk and made it necessary for her pet to have (presumably) unpleasant medical procedures.

I would be mortified if I had been so careless and if at all possible I would never have let my friend know about the suffering I had caused her pet, let alone expect her to reimburse me for it.

I think YABU for calling them draws. They're drawers.

Give the OP a break, alice. She didn't call them Chester draws