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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

It’s irresponsible to buy 2 puppies at 94

137 replies

Onedropbeat · 20/03/2021 07:43

I don’t think it’s at all responsible at 94 to be buying puppies

I also don’t think it’s responsible buying through the pets4home website

OP posts:
Tinydinosaur · 20/03/2021 08:07

They're not really her dogs though are they? She doesn't walk or feed them or train them probably so when she dies the household staff will just continue looking after them as they did. Not like a normal family.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 20/03/2021 08:08

It is grim.

Littermates sold together (not a good idea) from a random "breeder" on the internet - who didn't even know where their puppies would be going and who they'd be living with.

Pretty depressing if you ask me, yet because it's the queen, it's fine "because it's not like they'll have a bad life" Hmm

Onedropbeat · 20/03/2021 08:09

@wetotter

"It is believed the dogs were a gift and the first the Queen has owned that are not direct descendants from a corgi called Susan that she received for her 18th birthday in 1944"

The PetsAtHome bit is almost certainly a tabloid invention. Contact with breeders on line, maybe via KC, isn't unusual during covid when usual contact is suspended

Only one was a gift. The other one was bought from a seller through pets4homes who didn’t know he was selling to the queen She paid £2650
OP posts:
Onedropbeat · 20/03/2021 08:09

No idea who the gift was from, not too sure if it says.

OP posts:
Onedropbeat · 20/03/2021 08:11

Different articles are saying a mix of things - one says it’s a pedigree corgi, another says it’s a dorgi (cross corgi and dachshund) Hmm

OP posts:
CovidCorvid · 20/03/2021 08:13

@wetotter

"It is believed the dogs were a gift and the first the Queen has owned that are not direct descendants from a corgi called Susan that she received for her 18th birthday in 1944"

The PetsAtHome bit is almost certainly a tabloid invention. Contact with breeders on line, maybe via KC, isn't unusual during covid when usual contact is suspended

I think the oets4homes thing is true....they intereviewed the breeder on the news.
Lindy2 · 20/03/2021 08:14

I'm glad the Queen has some new pets.

She clearly loves dogs and will enjoy them. She needs a bit of cheering up right now.

They're not exactly going to be uncared for are they.

SushiYum · 20/03/2021 08:16

@LadyWithLapdog

Did she buy them? I thought she (in)bred them. Aren’t they all offspring of the ones she has already?
The new corgi puppies are not related to her other corgis. She wants adorable dogs to brighten her day. I’d be the same if I was related to Prince Phillip and Andrew...
sunflowersandbuttercups · 20/03/2021 08:21

@Lindy2

I'm glad the Queen has some new pets.

She clearly loves dogs and will enjoy them. She needs a bit of cheering up right now.

They're not exactly going to be uncared for are they.

You're missing the point.
Livelovebehappy · 20/03/2021 08:22

If she’s the Queen, or in fact anyone who has someone lined up to take over caring for them once she goes, then I don’t see a problem. If it’s someone at 94 who lives alone with no plan of what happens to the puppies after she/he has gone, then yes it would be irresponsible.

SoupDragon · 20/03/2021 08:25

The queen bought puppies through pets4homes... is that really likely?

Most places say she was given them though.

merrymouse · 20/03/2021 08:27

I think it is completely responsible if you have staff and know who would care for the dog when you died.

SpiderinaWingMirror · 20/03/2021 08:28

I'm in good company then. I bought my dog through Pets4homes. Grin

merrymouse · 20/03/2021 08:28

I don't know anything about the website so can't comment on that part of the OP.

riverrunning · 20/03/2021 08:29

I don't believe the reports at all - the Queen is an experienced dog owner, has people to care for them and to ensure continuity of care after she dies, there are far worse situations for a puppy to be in.

Armi · 20/03/2021 08:31

I bought a puppy through Pets4Homes, too. It’s not just evil puppy farmers and people with mirrored furniture and grey carpets flogging Frenchie puppies they don’t want any more.

TheQueef · 20/03/2021 08:32

Surely this shows that individual circumstances differ?
Guaranteed home (palace) for life with its own staff?
Better life than lots of people nvm puppies!

Ladsladslads · 20/03/2021 08:32

There is no way the queen is buying dogs off pets 4 homes. Why would she need to?? I think a case of some unscrupulous breeder trying to get a bit of free advertising

LadyWithLapdog · 20/03/2021 08:34

Next headlines “Queen gets her soap and shampoo from The Refill Station”. That would be a good one, actually.

ShrikeAttack · 20/03/2021 08:39

DH's Grandma, who'd had dogs all her life got a new Yorkshire Terrier when she was 92, he was a fantastic companion to her until she died at 98.

She discussed with family members what would happen to the dog if it outlived her and arrangements were in place, the dog is very happily living with one of DH's cousins now.

That little dog brought her much happiness in her later years after her husband died (and had a very nice life itself).

fluffysocks89 · 20/03/2021 08:39

@MarinPrime

She's the Queen, she can buy what she likes Grin. It's not as if she's living a tiny flat with no friends or family. The pups won't starve to death or be abandoned if she dies.
Well if that’s the case it wouldn’t be irresponsible for a large number of 94 year olds to buy puppies, after all most of them have families too. Or is it just old people in flats that can’t. Double standards really.
JustAnotherBrick · 20/03/2021 08:43

Good question - 50?

Bloody hell, OP, 50? Dogs only live to about 15 if you’re very lucky. I’m early 50s and I’m not planning to pop my clogs by my mid 60s! Of course, I could, but so could anyone and the chances both DH and I would are slim. I’m assuming you’re a lot younger than 50 - DH and I are as fit as we ever have been and so are almost all of our peers. My in laws are fit and very active in their 70s. 50 and 60 really isn’t old.

Having said that, I do think beyond a certain age you need agreed back up in case anything happens. That should be in place before you get the dog and constantly checked that it’s still ok.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 20/03/2021 08:47

I think it's quite sad how many people are willing to defend it.

But I guess because "it's the queen" why should it matter where the puppies came from and what conditions the dam lives in? I mean, it's the queen after all Hmm

I very much suspect if they came from a proper breeder then the Royals would be more than happy to refute the claims made about Pets4Homes.

Onedropbeat · 20/03/2021 08:47

But buying a puppy at 59 means you still need to be fit and healthy in your late 69’s

(I come from a family that don’t seem to have the longevity gene so this probably clouds my view on that)

OP posts:
PuzzledObserver · 20/03/2021 08:53

My DM (85) had a 4-year- old dog which was hit by a car and had to be put down last summer, leaving her with a 12-year-old dog. All very sad. She has had dogs out down before of course, but they were old and sick, while this one was full of life, it hit her really hard.

A few months later she told us she was getting a puppy. One DSis was horrified, thought it was irresponsible etc. However, I have to say it has been brilliant for her. Walkies every day, lots of love and attention etc - just what an older person living alone needs when her family are not allowed to visit and she can’t have a cup of tea with her friends.

If it comes to it and she pops her clog before the new dog (which on the balance of probabilities, she will), we her children will have to work out what to do with the dog - find someone to rehome it. But it will have given DM a lot of pleasure, hopefully for a good number of years.