To refuse to go to the rabbit killer's birthday party

[chocolatebox1]

A couple of months ago a family friend looked after our dog and my rabbit when we went on holiday. She was given very clear instructions about feeding the rabbit and everything was left out and couldn't have been made more simple. Got back and found my rabbit lying listless in the cage. The friend had gone through the cupboards and given her a bowl of some sort of dog supplements she'd found in there instead of proper food. Unfortunately my rabbit didn't survive.
I haven't seen this family friend since. Even though i don't know her all that well, for some reason I was asked to organise a birthday party for her. I booked a restaurant and it's for this evening. It's time to get ready and I'm feeling very angry again about what happened and don't want to go. Would I be unreasonable to make an excuse and not go?

You paid this woman to look after the rabbit, she killed it and you didn't say anything?

She's a paid pet sitter!
You definitely need to say something.

OneStepSideways, that's all true, but nonetheless she a) is a paid sitter and b) had the food she'd been told to use laid out on the surface and labelled clearly.

She's at best an incompetent.

What on Earth is in the dog supplements?

I looked after a rabbit once that we didn’t realise was eating dried cat food for a week. (As in didn’t realise he could get to it, not fed it to him)

He just got fat...

She's a paid pet sitter??
This changes everything. I can't believe this woman killed your rabbit and your mother tried to hush it up? Meanwhile, presumably your mother is still letting this woman look after her own pets?
I would have said something at the time. Google Reviews?
Tbh if I was looking for a pet sitter, I'd like to know that Candidate A killed a previous client's pets because she was rummaging through your drawers and fed the animal something she shouldn't have instead of the food you'd specifically laid out to feed.
Name shame. (Although it is a bit unfair that this woman apparently doesn't even know she killed your pet?)

-She shouldn't have been rummaging through your drawers.
-She should have fed the animals what she was instructed to feed them.
-She should have been aware that the animals were either not eating or that they were becoming ill from whatever she was feeding them. Then she should have either phoned you or the vet to seek help for the sick animal.

And your mother is cruel for asking you of all people to arrange a birthday party for this woman!

Was your bunny male or female?!

He/she has followed current trend and has changed gender throughout your story

I still don’t understand why she did this - could it have been deliberate?

Why be a coward and pull the migraine card rather than confront someone who supposedly killed your pet!?!???

rachel yes i noticed that too!!

Text both of them exactly why you aren't attending. You owe it to other pets she may come into contact with.

Were there signs of a break in to the hutch? Sherlock Holmes would have advised you to call in a vet.

*Was your bunny male or female?!

He/she has followed current trend and has changed gender throughout your story*

Where? In the first post the OP refers only to ‘the rabbit’, not he or she. She later says she’s really missing him. Only one gender mention that I can see.

Nope nope nope

If anyone had done that my rabbit I would have gone absolutely nuts and they would know they killed my rabbit. I’m hoping this isn’t real as I hate the thought of an animal dying because of stupidity

@CoughLaughFart

1st post - a girl
A couple of months ago a family friend looked after our dog and my rabbit when we went on holiday. She was given very clear instructions about feeding the rabbit and everything was left out and couldn't have been made more simple. Got back and found my rabbit lying listless in the cage. The friend had gone through the cupboards and given her a bowl of some sort of dog supplements she'd found in there instead of proper food. Unfortunately my rabbit didn't survive.
I haven't seen this family friend since. Even though i don't know her all that well, for some reason I was asked to organise a birthday party for her. I booked a restaurant and it's for this evening. It's time to get ready and I'm feeling very angry again about what happened and don't want to go. Would I be unreasonable to make an excuse and not

3rd post - a boy

Not a drip feed - I don't believe it was deliberate, but I'm struggling to get over how anyone can be quite that stupid in the first place. It might not have been done with any intentions but it cost my rabbit his life and I'm still really missing him. I can't believe she's that useless as she manages to cope with two dogs and two cats at home and none of them have starved to death as far as I know. I shouldn't have given in and agreed to book the table I know, that was really stupid of me.

I’m Team Rabbit, screw the Birthday dinner

You are right CallMeRachel, very suspicious odd 😒

respectfully you sound like an absolute wimp

Rummaging around in the back of cupboards to feed something that wasn't part of the instructions, when there was food on the side, isn't an accident.

You need to ask her why she fed what she did before she goes off and kills someone else's pet

What I don't understand is how you are so sure she fed the food to the rabbit and that caused its death, seeing that you haven't been in contact with her since, how do you know this?
Seems more likely she gave the dog food to the dog she was also looking after, and the rabbit happened to die around the same time.

I echo the pps who have asked if you haven’t spoken to her about it how you know she gave the dog supplements to the rabbit and not the dog?
If you do somehow know she gave them to the rabbit and they were in clear dog packaging and she is a paid pet sitter why are you convinced it was accidental?
And finally, why have you changed the sex of your rabbit between posts? I know some people change details to protect identity but this is a fairly unique story and changing the sex of the rabbit makes it no less identifiable.

Has a vet confirmed that the supplements killed the rabbit? What’s in them that would be beneficial for a dog but fatal to a rabbit?

If you haven't even spoken to her, how do you know she gave the rabbit dog food? How do you know she was rummaging in your cupboards? The rabbit death could be totally unrelated. But by all means go to bed with a migraine if that avoids you actually speaking to her and getting some answers

Have you never made a mistake? It’s really not healthy to hold such grudges against people, especially when they’ve no idea what they’ve done wrong.

The shitty party is the least of the issues here, why did you let some random person be in charge of family members actual survival, and why on earth did you not report her for animal abuse and neglect, or at bare minimum even inform her that it’s fuckin chilling to kill someone’s pet?! She went out of her way to feed your pet products not meant for its species, and there’s a party for her? I’m struggling to understand this.