AIBU about dog sitter?

[Dygger]

We have an elderly deaf dog who gets distressed in kennels, so when we were invited to attend a family wedding abroad we asked around to see if anyone we knew would dog-sit for a week. A friend who used to live nearby but moved away a few years ago, jumped at the chance to spend a week here and catch up with her old mates. We agreed to leave her a full fridge and wine in exchange for dog care..

A couple of weeks before we were due to leave she called to say that her request to take the time off work as holiday had been denied and she'd have to take it as unpaid leave. She works part-time and isn't very well off. She wasn't sure she could afford to come if it meant she wouldn't be paid, so we ended up agreeing that I'd pay her £250 plus petrol money. She arrived as planned and we went off on our trip. She sent photos each day of the dog out and about on various walks.

When we got back we discovered that the day after we left she'd tripped over a tree root on a footpath and injured her back. She could barely move, so one of her local friends, whom we know by sight, had looked after her and the dog. Fortunately she was feeling a lot better and was able to drive herself home.

I didn't think any more about it until earlier today when I bumped into the woman who'd helped out. I thanked her. She said she was glad she'd been available to come to the rescue and then said something about her rate for dog-walking being £20 a hour. I was a bit thrown and said she'd be the first person we'd call if we needed a dog-walker in future. She didn't look happy and said something about not normally offering freebies.

I don't know what to do. On the one hand it doesn't feel fair that we pay twice. They didn't even let us know there was an issue. On the other hand this is a village and it won't take long for word of how mean and thoughtless we are to do the rounds.

Do we need to pay the woman who stepped in to help? If so, how much would you offer?

Yes, some of us respect the time and effort of the people we're entrusting our pets with, rather than suspecting them of trying to scam us.

I'm here for the message when the 'injured' friend gets back to the OP (good point @MotherOfWhippets about the recovery just in time to be able to return home).

I don't think you owe the person who actually walked your dog as it wasn't you who knew about them or you who asked them to walk your dog. That was your friend. It should be your friend who should pay.

I'm also not buying the low paid element either. She claims she wasn't able to take the time off as Annual Leave (so it would be paid) but instead took the time off as unpaid leave so she must be able to absorb some of that hit without too much concern. She mentioned it to you (I think) to see what you might do, and you stepped up and agreed to pay her. So your friend doesn't earn the same as you but I hardly think that she's on the breadline either. Just my impression.

If you really and truly entrusted the people you're leaving your pet with you should want them to check with you first about what kind of alternative dog walking service you'd want them to use in these circumstances - and presumably you'd want them to use a fully vetted, fully insured and highly recommended dog walker instead of their mate Babs who'd moved in for the week and said she'd take your dog out for a bit.

Pay the dog walker. Seriously.

OP did not engage the dog walker - OP doesnt pay the dog walker
OP might have a cheaper / better one she may have preferred to use

good point about the recovery just in time to be able to return home

I don't think it's that unlikely after a week.

@Dygger you said in your OP that she told you that she charges £20 per walk, ergo, she’s making an income from dog walking.
I was only suggesting that you give her a full explanation that you were in the dark about her being asked (ok, I used the word ‘booked’ - my bad) as you’d said you live in a village and word could get around that paints you in a negative light when it’s unwarranted.
FWIW I don’t think it should be up to you to pay her, you’d sorted out the care arrangements for your dog, anything in addition to that shouldn’t be your problem.

Part of the time it's one to one, part of the time it's a group, I have 2 dogs who generally keep each other company but its lovely when they get to socialise with the others.
So to try to explain,
She picks mine up on the way to dropping two others off, its away across a field, takes mine wherever for the hour, takes a long route back she picks up 2 more, then drops off mine, goes to pick another and then walks them for an hour.
She is fully insured and registered with the council, had her for three years and very very happy.
I dont know if she charges others less or more than me and it's none of my business. I'm happy with what I pay.

If you have 2 dogs being walked then is that £12.50 each dog? Which is about right price-wise.

If you have contact details of the woman who walked the dogs then get in touch with her and explain - you paid your friend for dog-walking, if she had let you know she couldn’t do it then you would’ve been able to arrange for someone else to do it for free, and whilst you don’t want to be mean the reality is you can’t justify / afford to be paying for the same service twice when it just wasn’t necessary. Tell her you’ve contacted friend to try and sort something out, but she’s not been in touch yet.

£20 for a twenty-minute walk, charged twice a day (particularly as she was at your house anyway to look after the friend) seems outrageous for a complete stranger with no insurance, cash in hand I assume, to be expecting. £40 a day for 40 minute walk with a gentle obedient dog, with no commute time?

Love to hear what (if) friend answers your email. That, hopefully, should put an end to the TA/dog walker expecting payment from you if your friend asks her about the request for payment.

As someone on a low income she should know better than to spend someone else's money for them! OP wasn't told about the requirement for a walker because the sitter chose to hire someone without OP's agreement or knowledge. How would she like to get a surprise bill for anything up to say, £420? (if it was morning, noon and night walks)

The dog-sitting friend called me last night. She'd just spoken to her friend, the one who came to help her when she had her accident, and apparently when we met on the Saturday the 'friend' says she was taken by surprise and can't remember what she said to me. My friend is taking the line that I must have misheard what was said, because no way would the other woman expect any money. Hmm. I'm sure I didn't mishear, and that's what I told my friend, but it's clear the other 'friend' has denied saying what she said.

I'm feeling weird about the whole thing, but I'm going to draw a line under it. I think I'm going to steer well clear of the local 'friend' in future when I see her around. Not sure about the old friend: not sure I'd want to trust her again.

Hi OP.

I am a professional home boarder and have been for almost a decade.

Dogs stay in my lovely home when people go on holiday. There are no kennels or cages, they are treated like family.

I charge £25 for 24 hours, I am licenced by the Council, and I am fully insured.

A week with me would have cost you £175, so in my opinion, you have already overpaid your friend. I'm guessing that on top of the £250, she also ate some of your food, drank some of your booze and used gas/electricity etc?

I don't know why some people think your friend is out of pocket? She ended up having a week lying on your sofa, and she got paid for it. It was her decision to pay for a dog walker, when one wasn't needed.

You do not pay your friend and the dog walker.

The dog walker (who isn't really a dog walker!), does not have a licence, is not insured, and isn't running a tax paying business.....and even if she was, £20 for a half hour walk is massively taking the piss. I charge £20 for full day care, including feeding of breakfast/lunch/dinner and 2 walks.

Do you have her number? I'd be inclined to text something along the lines of :

"Hi Sara. I was just thinking more about our conversation earlier, about you walking our dog when Michelle was dog sitting for us. I thought at the time that you were joking about the £20 an hour thing, but now you have me worried! Are you a professional dog walker and Michelle did indeed make a contract with you? She certainly intimated to me, that you were helping her, as a friend. I have already paid Michelle for a full week of dog sitting. Can you let me know, as I don't want there to be any misunderstanding? Thanks"

CROSS POST, sorry :-)

There are some incredibly dimwitted posters on this thread. Of course you shouldn't pay her. Ffs.

Hi Tortuga (like the sound of the rum cake!), thanks for your suggestion. You charge around the same as local home boarders. We've occasionally put our dog into a home boarding place with a local couple in the past. They started out small and intimate and took great care of him: he was often the only dog. But they now have up to eight dogs at a time, many of them young and lively, and it's a bit much for the old boy to deal with. The good news is that our neighbours, who've known our dog for years, have said that now they're retired they'd be very happy to have him if we need some time away. So I suppose all in all it's turned out okay. It's just going to seem a bit awkward when we meet the 'friend' around the village...

OP paid the friend £250 plus accommodation.
The friend didn't tell OP anything had happened, therefore didn't give OP chance to do anything about it.
Instead they got someone else to walk the dog.
You cannot expect someone to pay you when they have NO.IDEA that the services were being used in the first place.