To never agree to this again?

[lastqueenofscotland]

I agreed to dog and house sit for a colleague I’m friendly with while she goes to her sisters wedding and is away for a couple of weeks.
I grew up in the country with plenty of animals so perfectly used to most dogs however...
the house is filthy. The oven in particular is disgusting, none of the glasses were remotely clean, I ended up buying some paper cups

I can't believe she didn't have you over beforehand to show you where everything was (including the nun-existent dog food!!).

I can't believe people are advising you to clean that filthy dump of a hovel!

Definitely don't offer to do this again. Sounds like an absolute nightmare. Is the colleague herself well groomed or does she have messy/smelly clothes etc?

Oh God that would be my worst nightmare, I can't believe she expected you to sleep with the dog! I wouldn't even have mine in my bed never mind anyone else's. I would have contacted her on day 1 and told her to organise a kennel for the dog because I wasn't staying in a filthy house without hot water or sleeping with a dog in the bed.
Is contacting her about kennelling the dog an option now?

Sounds revolting!
I can believe it though - a friend of mine has just started working for a couple who run their business from home and she hates it already - mostly because their house is also a shit tip! Full of dog hair and cat litter, it stinks, the main bathroom (which she has to use while she's there) has piss all over the floor and the seat from the young child who uses it but no one thinks to clean it up; she's seriously considering giving the job up, despite it only being one day a week because it's just so disgusting!

Contact her and tell her sadly something has come up and you can't continue to house sit for her and have found a local kennels, is that okay or would she rather ask someone else to house sit.

You've learned your lesson never to agree to house sit somewhere you've not seen beforehand I guess! I find most people who ask people to house sit to be pretty cheeky tbh. They just want a cheaper option than paying for kennels, and there's really no reason a house needs looking at over just two weeks of being away.

I had friends once try and persuade me to house with with a 'you stay here and house/cat sit, and in return you get full access to the whole house for the weekend to chill or do whatever', as if that was somehow a bonus to me! Sure, I live in a smallish flat, but I love it and would much rather be in my own home than somebody else's.

Needless to say we are no longer friends. Cheeky twats. Wouldn't have minded if they'd just admitted it was asking a favour (still wouldn't have done it, I live 70 miles away and my time is precious) but the way they tried to phrase it as doing me a favour really showed a lot about their characters.

This is an odd situation - presumably she knew that her sister would be getting married and therefore she would need someone to housesit/dogsit for her for some time. Therefore, she could have cleaned up a bit or at least done the washing up!

Is it possible that she's spectacularly in debt and can't afford hot water / fixing the boiler / buying dog bits and pieces? If you think that might be the case, and you generally like her, you might consider doing a bit of washing up and/or cleaning. If not, leave the dog to sleep in its own bed, live in your own flat and go over to walk the dog during the day.

By the way, I wouldn't be too hard on her about the oven - every oven I've ever owned has looked horrid most of the time, until my new magic self-cleaning one!

To be honest, when I stay there I just roll my sleeves up and start cleaning. Boil a kettle and mix the water half and half with cold to wash up, using loads of washing up liquid. Once you have a small area clean it's much easier to manage the rest of the week.

You start cleaning her house for her, pig!?

Maybe that's why she invites you over!

I'd be humiliated to let someone see my home in this state, let alone an extended stay, not that I'd tolerate it in the first place but still.

If we have visitors like later on today (someone popping over for a drink) the day before or day of the visit we have a proper deep clean of every room, get rid of any rubbish that has somehow outstayed it's welcome, fresh towels and dishes all done and everything dusted. I don't really care what others do with their homes when I visit (though if it was unsanitary I wouldn't go, I'd want to meet outside instead) but I just feel like it's a basic mark of respect.

She doesn't respect you, and worse still I bet she knows you won't be able to handle the filth and will feel too awkward to say you can't do it anymore, so she thinks you'll clean.

Is she even a friend? It's a big ask for a colleague, cheeky mare.

Is it possible that she's spectacularly in debt and can't afford hot water / fixing the boiler / buying dog bits and pieces?

I can't see how that can be the case if she's off away for a fortnight after the wedding.

Oh dear. How horrid. What on earth were they thinking?

My dog is a bed sleeper but neither he nor I would have expected our housesitter to cosy up to him.

I paid my house/dog sitter, and while I knew it gave them some welcome privacy from a big house share, was still a favour. I left the house spotless and they loved my DVD boxed sets. And my dog.

I'm sorry but I wouldn't be cleaning someone else's filthy house because they cba.
I would phone her and tell her she needs to organise alternative house/pet sitting and I would tell her why.
People who live like that are just downright lazy and to expect you to live in it for 2 weeks is just unbelievable.

Re why I didn’t go and see it u usually would but something came up at home and I wasn’t able to the Saturday she had mentioned.
She is, in person, immaculate always has her hair/nails//tan/makeup done perfectly so I sort of assumed her house would be the same!

Not sure why the hot water is an issue at all, unless it's winter we never have hot water, ever and we are fine for money, I just don't ever turn it on, we use the electric shower and granted the dishes go in the dish washer, anything else I just use the kettle for. Just boil the kettle, wash the dishes and clean the surfaces, you don't need to do a deep clean, just clean what you use, you sound previous to me about the cleaning. Buying paper cups is beyond ridiculous.

Yanbu about the dog in the bed though, yuck!

Yes, how precious to want hot running water

Do you churn your own butter too?

Yes fair enough if it's just normal every day cleaning and untidiness but by all accounts the op is in a house that is filthy.
I would need hot water and loads of detergent, sometimes cold water just doesn't cut it.
I wouldn't be cleaning it though, hot water or not.

Hire a deep cleaning company. Bill her. Ugh.

These suggestions for OP to pay for services herself and then bill her are unhelpful.

What is the likelihood that such a person would pay?

I agree that you shouldn't have to clean it but I would of been cleaning it all after an hour of being there. I could not spend more than that in a hovel.

I would make that place bloody gleam so she can see what a filthy disgusting pig she was normally. Shame her into getting cleaner.

If you are good at cleaning, why not see it as a challenge and it give it a good clean? There is no reason why you should, but if you have the time and the inclination, you could be really helping. Again, no reason why you should.

No it's fine to want hot water Lacuracha, it's percious buying paper cups instead of boiling the kettle and just cleaning them ffs, that is precious

I doubt she’d pay and appealing to my landlord I’m wary of as I’m only there still due to the completion of my house being delayed and he’s already been quite decent about me not being able to give him a date I’m leaving etc, throw having a dog in the mix and I’d really rather not piss him off!
I think I will call round some friends and see if someone can take the dog and I can go home to my clean house and oven without pet hair and grease baked into it

Re the kettle I think she’s cooked some food in it or something it is foul.

unless it's winter we never have hot water, ever and we are fine for money, I just don't ever turn it on,

So hand washing after the loo or mucky jobs is done in cold water? Nothing is ever hand washed everything goes in the dishwasher? How about recycling? You don't need hot water for cleaning?

It isn't that expensive to have hot water on for an hour, twice a day (will then stay warm in the tank). Why faff with kettles in this day and age? That's hardly being 'precious'. And if the house is that filthy a couple of kettles of water won't touch it. (Not that the OP should have to clean anything!)

Can you take the dog back to your place?

"Maybe that's why she invites you over!"

I think that's actually true, you know. She has form for princessy behaviour and for treating me like a bit of a servant, which is why I don't visit as often as I otherwise would! I often also cook for her and her husband when I'm in her house.

I'm totally with you on the way I handle things at home - I also would be ashamed to treat guests this way!

Ew wtf, what a dirty bitch.
I agree with others, is it possible to boil some water in the kettle and just give the house a bit of a clean. I know it's not your job and you shouldn't have to clean someone elses house but it'll make your life a bit easier whilst staying there.