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?

Sorry, I agree with those saying you're going to have to pay it. You're a dog owner, you know about dark chocolate.

If the dog had caused some damage to your home, then it'd be more of a grey area, but in this case, you were sort of doing damage to the dog by leaving the chocolate around, so I think it's your shout. If the dog had had organ failure as a result, you'd have felt awful.

calon

The OP states that the "friend" has agreed to pay.

The issue is the fact that she keeps giving the OP excuses and hasn't paid anything yet. You'd think if she believed she didn't need to pay, she would have said so.

I think the toddler analogy that a PP poster is a good one

Would you have said the mother ought to have paid if the babysitter had allowed the toddler to get hold of some pills in easy reach?

She offered you money for your time, you declined, that was your choice.
You left poison out for a creature that was in your care - this wouldn't have happened in kennels and, had it, they wouldn't have the brass neck to expect your friend to pay for their negligence.
If she hasn't paid you anything yet, have some grace and let it slip. Don't worry, she won't be asking you again.

It doesn't look like she's going to pay up though, does it? And the OP's got a choice between going round there and demanding money, or finding some - for want of a better word - karmic way of letting go in her head. In that situation, I think I'd rather think, well, it was kind of my fault because I should have known better, and thus my $300 has saved that dog's life.

Sorry if someone's already said this, but I wonder if the friend's husband is telling her that they shouldn't have to pay, after she's said they would?

I wouldn't hesitate to pay this if I were the owner. I can't believe these responses. Op was doing the owner a huge favour and the dog was badly trained to climb up like that.

Why should she pay? If it had happened at kennels they'd be fully liable. Hardly seems fair that you'd do them a favour to save them kennel fees, but expect them to cover the bill for something that happened on your watch.
She'll know what to do next time you offer to do her a favour...

If she has said she'll pay then the issue isn't really if she ought to or not; it's that she's not doing as she's said she would. Have you asked her if it would be easier to repay in instalments?

As an aside, our dog has a little soft spot for biscuits and sweets and would have no hesitation in scoffing something she found lying about. I'd pay up if it happened at a friends house because, well, you pay for your pets like you pay for your children. But it's probably best never to leave food where animals can get to it; there are so many things which can make them unwell (including raisins, which our idiot spaniel also loves).

It's the perfect dilemma this.

If it were my dog, I'd expect to pay.

If I'd been looking after the dog, I'd take the responsibility.

Argh.

There's only one way to sort it out..... FIGHT!!!

I don't think YABU OP. Perhaps split the bill? I know if I was you I would never be volunteering to look after her thieving pooch again.

Id be too mortified that I had nearly killed her dog! I wouldn't dream of asking for money.......

This! If the dog became ill through no fault of yours then of course they should payyou back, but the dog didn't fall ill of natural causes so to speak, it suffered poisoning due to you allowing it free access to an area with chocolate laying about, despite knowing how toxic chocolate is to dogs.

I would have been apologising profusely for an lost killing their dog, and leave it at that.

To almost kill their dog and then ask them to pay for the privilege is shocking!

If you looked after their child and through your negligence they fell over and broke their arm, would you ask them for the £40 taxi fare? No, so the dog situation is no different. Stop hassling them for money that you know they don't have ffs.

I hope the dog made a full recovery.

Don't worry, she won't be asking you again.

If I was the OP I would be very relieved if that was the case.

Why is no-one reading the OP? The "friend" has said she will pay. She's just being a pain about actually doing what she said she'd do.

She's probably said it as she's so shocked thst the OP would even ask her to and she's too polite to tell the op where to go. She poisoned the dog! It was entirely her fault, why the hell should the owner pay for the OP'S piss poor judgement?!

Suburban as I said, she should let it slip and not chase the money that she shouldn't have asked for in the first place

Whatthe exactly this.

The unfortunate because you were doing a favour and didn't accept any payment. Ordinarily id say you were responsible for paying the bill as the dog was harmed in your care and you shouldn't have left it alone with the chocolate. However as you didn't accept payment and looked after it for a week I think the owner should offer what they would have paid you to take care of the dog during that time. Also it would really annoy me that they're pleading poverty. Your financial responsibilities that you take on by choice (like pets) don't get absorbed by others because you're skint.

She's probably said it as she's so shocked thst the OP would even ask her to and she's too polite to tell the op where to go.

Nobody knows how shocked or polite the friend is. Suggesting she is is pure conjecture. All we can go on in what's in the OP.

If I left my dog with you and you left chocolate where she could get it, I would be furious. You left the chocolate out, you pay!!

OP, could you text her and ask how much the excess is? You could go 50/50.

The problem will be if there is no insurance - and there might not be, or you'd hope that she'd have said she'd claim from the insurance and pay you back with that - or if her insurance would have required her to notify them whilst she was at the vets.

Still, it's worth asking. You might be able to both pay £25/50 and nobody be too out of pocket.

If I'd put a dog in kennels and they had, through sheer carelessness, allowed the dog to eat something poisonous, I would certainly expect them to pay the vet's fees, and I would also expect them not to charge for the dog's care because it would be a direct breach of contract. So I really see no reason why the fact that you were providing care for free makes any difference here.

OP, I suggest you check your household insurance.

Since they said they'd pay for it they should. Offer to go halves though. I think that is a good compromise since they want to pay..

**A better analogy would be if you'd think the OP was (not) to blame had she been babysitting a toddler for a friend, and left tablets out which the child had swallowed because her own child was not the type to do it.

This. Spot on.

Yabu

It was your fault

She should pay you the full amount. You did her a favour by having the dog for free. The chocolate wasn't deliberately left within the dog's reach, it was an accident.