Neighbour on holiday - dog problem!

[loveacupoftea18]

Need advice as DH and I can't decide if we are too caught up in the problem to be objective!! Sorry if it's long, trying not to drip feed!

Live in a quiet cul-de-sac and get along with all neighbours. Our directly next-door neighbour has two enormous dogs who she loves dearly and is very good to. They do bark in the day when left alone in the garden but she is back regularly to let them out and take them for walks.

She is on the trip of a lifetime for two weeks and has a sort of friend staying in her house looking after them, with a dog walker dropping in to do the occasional dog walk.

She's been gone for 3 days. We haven't seen the friend that's staying there since Friday (however we have not been at home every minute) and the dogs are in the garden with the back door to the house wide open, all the time. They are doing absolutely nothing but barking constantly, I cannot describe just how much or how loud. It goes on for hours and hours at a time.

I don't know how regularly they are being checked on (or fed or walked!) and it first irked us when it was impossible to put our DD to bed because of the noise of the dogs barking. Banged on the front door repeatedly however no one in and ended up going around the back of the field to lean over the fence and comfort the dogs. This did cease the barking for an hour but then they're back to it. It's damn annoying but we end up feeling desperately sorry for the poor dogs and don't know what on earth to do.

They've barked every hour that we've been home today. There's still no sign of anyone in the house with them. I've just been to lean over the back fence for 15 minutes to give them a stroke and to quieten them down so DD can fall asleep.

AIBU? Surely this is not ok? What the hell can I do about it?

The RSPCA probably don't have the resources to do much anyway?
I do feel as if they need more power after all pet ownership is quite high in this country ... seems like that to me anyway?

To be fair though, we don't know if the dog owner hadn't left clear instructions and assumed that this dog sitter would actually do the job. She is likely to be devastated to find out that this dog sitter is so neglectful.

I can't believe people are suggesting to call the authorities in rather than contact the owner. I know which I would prefer. Contact her.

@Grumpelstilskin
Yep, I think the owner is probably texting/checking regularly with the sitter to see how her doggos are; and fhe sitter is lying out of her arse, saying all is well, and she's taking proper good care of them.

Is the door open all night, too?

But, the neighbor did arrange for someone to come and live in the house and stay wth the dogs. It sounds like she got really let down.

I think the OP did the right thing in contacting her. Hopefully someone more reliable can come and take over.

It's been scorching the last few days and there's a chance they've been left without water? If you're unable or unwilling to take responsibility of the dogs intol their owner returns I'd phone RSPCA

I actually think the owner has been a bit irresponsible here. Not because she didn't use kennels but for leaving dogs she knows bark and don't like being left alone in the garden with someone neighbours know can't be arsed.

My own dog would be distressed in kennels and I don't think every dog owner who doesn't use them does so out of cheapness however leaving them with someone the neighbours know isn't bothered is daft. These sound like dogs that need more than someone popping to feed them based on the behaviour you describe

I have a family member who has his own dogs look after mine and I message him at least once a day to check everything's ok. If I was being told they are fine when they aren't I'd be very thankful for a neighbour letting me know they've been left alone.

Really hope it doesn't turn out that your neighbour knows her friend is fucking off and leaving them for majority if not all of the time and is ok with that.

My neighbours did this..

Away for three weeks, left one of the kids older teenage friends dog sitting.. the minute they went, kid left the poor dog, and for the rest of the three weeks just popped back for 10 minutes twice a day to let him out/feed him.

We called the dog warden, rspca, police - the poor dog was howling for hours, non stop, the only pause he made was to breath, until he fell asleep from exhaustion for an hour or so then he'd start up again.

No one could do a thing - the owners knew damn well he had separation anxiety but the kid told the dog warden they'd said it was ok to leave him alone and that was that!

I didn't have ANY sympathy for them whatsoever when they realised on their return they had to refit the entire kitchen and floor ( and the housing association would NOT fund it) because the poor dog had absolutely trashed it.

The neighbour may not have her internet turned on to reply to you.
If you do have to contact the rspca id tell them the neighbour had left them with a sitter but that they had abandoned them, as it would be awful for your neighbour to come home and not be able to get her pets back.

My one would not cope being out of its surroundings ( has health conditions) so i would not be able to put it with any other animals, so unfair to say the neighbour simply didn't want to pay.
This would be my absolute fear, that someone i trusted would neglect my pets ( probably why i don’t go anywhere!)

No reply from neighbour. Am beginning to feel a bit suspicious of her.

However, sitter got home at 3am - I heard a car on the road and looked out (what a curtain twitcher) and realised it was her.

Am going to pop round for a word this morning!

Why are you feeling suspicious of the neighbour? We’ve often been on holiday abroad and had no WiFi signal so no access to internet, many families deliberately avoid sm when on holiday.

Hope all ok today.

No point in phoning RSPCA, god awful “charity”

They also won’t do anything as the dogs aren’t being left unattended for more than 24hrs.

What do you mean you are beginning to feel suspicious of your neighbour?

Contact neighbour first, then RSPCA or Police. Although bear in mind that the neighbour might still get in trouble as she is supposed to ensure the dogs are cared for while she is away and this has not been done. She will know it was you who called them too, but at least you can say you tried.

What do your other neighbour's think? I think the more people complain, the more likely you will see a result.

We have a neighbour who leaves dog on the balcony when they are out, but it's very rare and usually short lived. Those dogs must be beside themselves. Make sure they are fed and watered and keep the receipts!

OP - has the neighbour read your message though? She might not have a signal

I once left a neighbour cat feeding and she lost key so couldn’t get in house to feed them
Thankfully there is a cat flap fitted so she went out bought bowls and food and fed them outside my back door!
I don’t use a cattery tried once and they hated it - also came back with both worms and flea ridden

The neighbour may not have WiFi or signal. Has she read the message or has it even delivered? If she’s been posting regular FB updates then fair enough, you have a point but a lot of people go abroad to get away from the internet.

I don’t think RSPCA can do much in all honesty. I think your NDN had good intentions hence paying two separate people to care for her dogs but the dog sitter is feckless and selfish.

As others have said, the rspca may be limited in their powers as the legal requirement for dog care is so low thus if they have access to food, water and shelter then they are unlikely to be able to remove them

I would definetly have a word with sitter this morning, tell her other neighbours are complaining about the noise, ask her when she is planning on being around this week and is she staying over or just coming to feed and let them out.

I would also ask for the neighbours phone number rather than sending fb messages. I have various animals and they are left with neighbours/relatives/friends/kennels. Have always said if there is a medical problem take to vets and let me know, any other problems let me know but if something dies I don't need to know until I am back!

In this case I would definetly want to know so I can attempt to resolve it. It's a fairly easy problem to solve. Worse case scenario she comes home. But she can also throw money at the problem by trying to arrange an emergency dog sitter, try and organize a different friend or family to stay with the dogs or she can arrange for them to go to boarding kennels.

Boarding kennels might not be her first choice but if the RSPCA seize them, that's exactly where they will end up.

Sorry didn't mean suspicious because she hasn't replied (she hasn't but honestly i doubt she looks at Facebook whilst away) but more because of people's views here... however that's not very fair of me.

I knocked on the door just now, dog sitter eventually came to the door and just had a really bizarre conversation with her where she claims that she's been in the house and the barking has been driving her mad too... none of which is true. I told her I'd knocked on the door several times, she claimed to have been out in the back garden with the dogs - I told her that's strange as I had then been around the field in order to lean over and give the dogs some attention! She just smiled and nodded and waffled on - clearly realising that she's been caught out.

She let them out briefly into the garden and now she's gone out again... at a bit of a loss for what to do really as technically she's checked on them once in 24 hours. They haven't had a walk (and they are dogs that really need it) but I don't think any authority is likely to do anything?

I sent my cats to a cattery once when they were one. Never again. They were so distressed. Now, when we all go away, i have family come up to feed and play with them and they wander to the neighbours house to be fussed over, and fed chicken. Sometimes my sister moves in. They are 11 now and would not cope with a cattery at all.

My dog went into a kennel as an eight month old. He was so upset. Since, my very experienced dog owner MIL has had him and will for our next holidays. He likes nana's house. Nana has hooman food and huge retired person walks. And a puppy our dog adores.

It isnt always about the cost. It is about the individual pet.

So she is not walking the dogs, and pretending she had and pretending she is there. She has clearly lied to your neighbour.

Definitely keep a diary of what is happening OP - when they're barking, when you see the sitter appear/disappear, when (if) they get walked - so that you can show it to the NDN when she gets home. It won't help much in this situation, but hopefully she won't rely on this sitter again.

If the sitter keeps disappearing for hours on end, please keep up putting water over for the dogs, as two large dogs will empty a bowl of water very quickly and they need to keep hydrated. And thank you for being so caring. It's probably not easy, with a baby and toddler to look after, to be checking up on next door, so your NDN is very lucky to have someone like you living next door (you not quite so lucky!!)

I'd be messaging your neighbour and saying you've spoken to her but you are concerned about the lack of care she is giving them and the fact she lied to you.

Keep an eye out too today for her too.