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?

Wow $80,000 worth of damage, what did the dog do??

Also it was just one small square of chocolate, did that really require vet treatment totalling £300? I've always had dogs, big and small and they've snuck the odd bit of choc here and there and the worst that happened was runny poos in the garden!

She should have paid. You've given free dog care for two weeks

Can't believe some of the hysterical responses on here. Your friend should have pet insurance and if she doesn't should offset the cost against not having to pay for kennels for 2 weeks. Get the money off her op, she's taking the piss.

It wasn't free. Vet bills were incurred because of dog being poisoned. It's only free in the sense that op hasn't charged a fee; it certainly wasn't free at the point of use, so to speak.

The two weeks care was free.

The vet had a cost.

How hard is that to understand?

If someone was kind enough to look after my dog I'd be very grateful

That doesnt mean I wouldn't be pissed off that they'd allowed my dog to be put in danger.

Just as if they were looking after my child.

I would pay some but not all.

This is why, as others have already said I would not agree to look after anyone's pet with out having a discussion about vet treatment insurance etc and asking them beforehand what they would like me to do if I was unable to reach them. I also leave written instructions for anyone looking after my animals explaining that I would much rather pay unnecessary vet bills than have a necessary vet visit delayed. My pet; my responsibility. (and I suspect most kennels will have a clause in their contract stating that the owner agrees to them calling the vet in whenever necessary. The livery yard where I keep my horse certainly does.)

Having said that, I would probably feel responsible for the chocolate eating and would pay.

The issue is that although the OP was being very kind she took on responsibility for the animal and allowed harm to come to it , it's the same as when you hand your child to a childminder and your child breaks something in her house - yes it's nice if you offer to pay to replace the item but you are not obliged to do so because it's her responsibility to keep your child and her items safe

FLoral, she wasn't taking a wage like with a child minder.. who is insured in case something happens in their house. It would be the same as if you left your dc around a neighbour, as a favour. I would certainly expect to pay in that case.

This is why, as others have already said I would not agree to look after anyone's pet with out having a discussion about vet treatment insurance etc

Very sensible.

It's not hard to understand at all, Suburban, thank you. The Vet's cost was incurred while the dog was in the free care of the op, rendering the care of the dog NOT FREE at all as a direct result of the op's actions.

She hasn't agreed to pay for the care of the dog. She's agreed to pay for the vet fees.

The OP offered to look after the dog Suburban, she wasn't forced. The friend offered to pay; she said no.

Because the OP volunteered to look after the dog and didn't take payment when offered it, why the hell should she now expect the owner to pay up for her fuck up?!

I honestly can't believe anyone can think it's ok to poison someone's dog and then expect to be paid for the privilege! Absolutely ridiculous!

Hoe anyone in good concience can almost kill someone's dog and then ask a woman who lives off a meagre pension thanks to her disability to fork out £300 is beyond me, Im gobsmacked suburban that you could ever think this was ok

Can you honestly not see the difference between signing a contract with a boarding kennels and having a friend look after your dog for free? Really?

If the dog owner had put the dog in kennels and this had happened, I would expect the kennels to waive all charges and pay the vet's fee. I wouldn't be saying "How kind of them not to charge me, I'll happily pay out £300 for the direct consequences of their negligence." Remember, the friend did offer to pay OP beforehand.

The only circumstances in which it wouldn't be fair for OP to pay would be if she'd made it very clear at the outset that she wasn't going to take any responsibility for any injury or illness the dog suffered, even if it was entirely her fault.

So people are still not reading the OP where it says the owner says she would pay but just keeps stalling and making excuses not to pay.

Irrelevant without knowing the circumstances in which OP asked and the owner agreed. The owner is likely to be vulnerable anyway by reason of her mental illness, and at the relevant time was probably thinking rather more about her sick dog - even if it was recovering by then I suspect she was berating herself for going away on holiday and leaving it with someone else. We don't know what OP told her or how she did so. At the very least, the owner almost certainly hadn't thought it through. In legal terms her alleged agreement to pay wouldn't be binding anyway.

As it's your fault but her dog, you could offer to go halves on the cost.

If I was the dog owner I would have offered to pay, but if I were the dog sitter I wouldn't have asked for payment, and would have resisted even if payment had been offered.

You can't really expect someone to pay you for poisoning her dog, can you?

If it were my dog, I would totally pay the bill.

And I'd be thanking her for taking prompt action. Some people wouldn't have considered the consequences of a small dog eating chocolate and I'd be very grateful for that.

No way should the OP be out of pocket for being kind to her friend for looking after the dog in the first place but also being responsible enough to involve the vets.

Kidnapped, would you seriously take that attitude when the person you are thanking is the person whose carelessness put your dog in that much danger?

As a fellow dog owner, the OPis fully aware how potentially fatal chocolate is to dogs, yet left it where the dog could get it anyway kidnapped. Not a chance is the dog owner responsible for the OP being so irresponsible.

I would pay, my dog cannot help himself with regard to food (he is a rescue). But I would never leave with anyone it is either kennels or a walker when less than 24 hour spell.

Why yes, I would take that attitude. My dog so I pay. What is so astonishing about that?

If the dog were trained properly it wouldn't be snaffling food in the first place. Owner's fault.