WIBU to tell colleague she shouldn't have a dog?

[thesleepystorm]

I know I should mind my own business but...my colleague is about to purchase a pug puppy. She found it on the pets4homes website. She lives in a top floor London flat (where she isn't allowed pets anyway, she rents), she is out all day at work and then the gym so about 12 hours a day but does not intend on employing a dog walker because it's too expensive, nor does she intend on getting pet insurance for the same reason. Yet she has spent ££££££ on an expensive bed, toys and carrier for this dog. She has never owned a pet before.

I really want to say something to her regarding the above - particularly warning her off pets4homes - but I think she might tell me to sod off. But it makes me so cross!!! WIBU to say something?

Been there done that with someone closer than a work colleague. The result? She has a seriously obese dog that is wrecking her house because it doesn't get any exercise and has had no training.
My advice op? Keep quiet.

Wouldn't have a dog without insurance let alone a pug! She does realise pugs are prone to many genetic health issues yeah it may be ££££ a month because of the breed, bit how does she expect to pay for vet bills when they come up?!

Pugs have some of the most grim defects going. Their healthcare costs can run into thousands if they have the need for corrective operations.

Your colleague should buy herself a nice pug toy.

Can she take the dog to work with her? If it was crated?

My son in law works in an office where they have an 'office dog', so it can work in some places.

If she gets this puppy and leaves it 12 hours you really should call the RSPCA

Sorry to say my experience of the RSPCA is that they do the sum total of jack all. I once reported a dog that lived on our street. It was kept in a cage in the back garden all day, shit everywhere in the cage, never walked and was constantly shouted at. RSPCA said as it was being fed (barely!) they wouldn't do anything.

zap we work at a university so I doubt that would be allowed. Loads of people likely have allergies etc. Just wouldn't be practical.

Point out that her flat will be swimming in piss and worse if she leaves the dog for longer than a few hours.

and also she goes to the gym every day after work so what would she do with the dog then?

No she should be getting a dog under those circumstances. I'd tell her so and tell her she risks the threat of being reported if she isn't allowed a dog in her flat. Selfish woman.

Perhaps the way to go is to tell her she will lose her flat if the landlord finds out? How much does she like where she lives?

she doesn't have a landlord, the block is owned by a bank (I know it's weird)

I don't think she's had an inspection ever so I really can't see her LL finding out unless one of her neighbours reports her

she would be aggrieved to lose it though as it's fucking cheap for London - 850 PCM for a one bedder

Insurance is "too expensive"? Ask her what her plan is if her pug needs soft palate surgery to rectify Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome. Or if needs recurrent treatment (or even an eye removing) because it suffers from Brachycephalic Ocular Syndrome. Or if it needs major spinal surgery because it's losing control of its back legs (and bowel/bladder) due to Hemivertebrae. Or if it needs regular treatment for Skin Fold Dermatitis.

And that's just the issues relating directly the shape pugs have been bred into, there's a number of other nasty conditions they can be affected by which can be avoided by DNA testing but it's not that likely someone selling pups on Pets4Homes to people in flats will have bothered.

Degenerative Myelopathy - a progressive deterioration of the spinal cord which eventually results in paralysis
May-Hegglin Anomaly - a blood disorder causing deficiency and structural abnormalities of platelets
Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency - an enzyme deficiency resulting in hemolytic anaemia and eventual liver failure
Primary Lens Luxation - a breakdown of the tissues holding the lens of the eye in place resulting in glaucoma and blindness
Pug Dog Encephalitis - progressive and fatal autoimmune disease which affects the nervous system and is the cause of death for 1.2% of pugs

awful cornflake. Knew pugs had health problems but didn't know how bad they were.

So she will be out of the house for 12 hrs, and then I assume that of the 12 hrs when she is home she will be asleep for around 8hrs? So she will have 4 hrs per day to give the dog attention-and will no doubt have other stuff to do in that 4 hours like dressing, washing, eating, cleaning etc. So the dog gets a couple or three poor quality hours per day and then has to spend the rest of the day alone in a flat with no outside space. She is completely clueless and no-YANBU to tell her this! Tell her to go to Hamleys and buy a stuffed dog toy-it'll be far more suited for her lifestyle! Not to mention when the LL finds out and she is kicked out she will struggle to find rentals that take pets so she will no doubt have to rehome it!

I think you have to say something OP.

Rather than pointing out how bad it will be for the dog, because tbh if she was thinking about the dog's welfare, she'd know it's completely wrong of her to get one, could you play it more on the mess it will make of her home: chewing, peeing/pooing, the noise of barking and neighbours, sleep training and how disruptive it will be for her trying to sleep with a crying puppy and how exhausting that's going to be, the expense of kennel when she goes on holiday, vet's high prices etc etc. I'm sure you can think of loads more things that might possibly put her off the idea.

The thought of that poor little puppy being left alone all day in a strange place. Is just heartbreaking.

Stupid selfish woman.

I'd just say "But where will you live?" When she looks blank, say, "The dog would only be there 48 hours before someone reported you. You know dogs bark, don't you? And you know dogs are banned in the flat? Someone in another flat will complain within hours, especially if they have a friend they'd like to have living there, too."

It's not even just her landlord she needs to worry about finding out about the dog, it'll be everyone else in the block because quite often they're not allowed under the lease so all it'll take is someone to report her to the managing agent and the dog will be gone.

Out of interest, what do people think is wrong with pets4homes? We found a wonderful breeder on there so just curious.

Out of interest, what do people think is wrong with pets4homes? We found a wonderful breeder on there so just curious.

Mostly used by puppy farmers and completely unscrupulous breeders.

Proper breeders have long waiting lists, let you visit numerous times, let you see the mum, and most importantly vet their buyers - they don't just let their litters (puppies, kittens or whatever) go to anyone.

It should be banned as it gives a platform to all sorts of animal cruelty.

I think a lot of people have no idea what to look for in a breeder.

Probably a bit unfair to generalise like that though isn't it?
Our breeder spoke to us on the phone for over an hour before we were invited over to meet them and we were able to go over as often as we liked before picking our puppy up.

puppyl0ve you do get the odd decent breeder on there but on the whole it's the site of choice for puppy farmers, BYBs and the naïve pet owners who want little Fluffy to experience motherhood.

Really responsible breeders don't tend to advertise much once the litter is already on the ground as they'll have advertised (usually on a site like Champdogs, via the KC or through the breed club) the impending litter to get a waiting list set up which is often full before the puppies are even born.

Tell her to watch that 10 Puppies show on the BBC? Although that gave me the rage - how many of the owners just treat their puppy like a toy with no real care about its welfare - puppy getting poked by their kids so much that it bites - brilliant, huge puppy in a tiny first floor flat - why not, who gives a fuck that the dog can hardly turn around in a room because it's so big. Animal lovers my arse.

Yes I was just about to ask what's wrong with pets4homes. I'm sure you're right that it's a platform for unscrupulous people but that's true of any online sales platform isn't it? You have to do your due diligence on a breeder wherever you get their details from!

That's terrible of her.

My neighbours also leave their dog for hours on end in a flat that's too small for him - he's a great big beast. He howls all day long. We're about to report them to the council. They'll have to find a solution and could be fined up to £500, I believe. Maybe you should tell her that.